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Series 
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microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  instituts  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


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1 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


T.ie  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  Xhe  best  original 
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possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  6t6  fiim^es. 

Additional  comments  / 
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L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6\6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
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ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  m^tho- 
de  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 

[     I  Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

I j   Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag6es 


D 


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/4  Showthrough  /  Transparence 

I      I   Quality  of  print  varies  / 


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D 


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Quality  in6gale  de  rimpreF~''^n 

Includes  supplement    v  .  Si^ .  al  / 
Comprend  du  matdnt.  -w^p.e.'iirntaire 

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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 

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colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
film6es  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meilleure  image 
possible. 


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This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below  / 

Ce  document  est  fiime  au  taux  de  reduction  indique  ci-dessous. 


lOx 

14x 

18x 

22x 

26x 

30x 

V 

12x 


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24x 


28x 


32x 


mfj^^^^'-^^t.:-^  "^vTmm 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Engineering  Sciences  Library, 
Queen's  University 


L'  exemplaire  filme  fut  reproduit  grSce  a  la 
generosite  de: 

Engineering  Sciences  Library, 
Queen's  University 


This  title  was  microfilmed  with  the  generous 
permission  of  the  rights  holder: 

Forbes  Tad  Rickard 


Ce  titre  a  ete  microfilme  avec  I'aimable  autorisation 
du  detenteur  des  droits: 

Forbes  Tad  Rickard 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility  of 
the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the  filming 
contract  specifications. 

Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on  the 
last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impression,  or 
the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All  otiier  original 
copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the  first  page  with  a 
printed  or  illustrated  impression,  and  ending  on  the 
last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche  shall 
contain  the  symbol  -♦(meaning  "CONTINUED"),  or 
the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"),  whichever  applies. 

Ivlaps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed  begin- 
ning in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to  nght  and 
top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  ap  required.  The 
following  diagrams  illustrate  the  method: 


1 

2 

3 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  ete  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et  de 
la  nettete  de  I'exemplaire  filme,  et  en  conformite 
avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de  filmage. 

Los  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimee  sont  filmes  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniere  p'  ge  qui  comporte  une  empreinte  d'im- 
pression  ou  d'iilustration,  soit  par  le  second  plat, 
selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires  origin- 
aux sont  filmes  en  commen9ant  par  la  premiere 
page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte  d'impression  ou 
d'iilustration  et  en  terminant  par  la  derniere  page 
qui  comporte  une  telle  empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la 
derniere  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le  cas: 
le  symbole  -♦  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le  symbole  V 
signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  etre 
filmes  a  des  taux  de  reduction  differents.  Lorsque 
le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre  reproduit  en 
un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filme  a  partir  de  Tangle 
superieur  gauche,  de  gauche  a  droite,  et  de  haut 
en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre  d 'images 
necessaire.   Les  diagrammes  suivants  illustrent  la 
methode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION   TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No   2i 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


IIM 

I  2.2 
2.0 

1.8 


^  4PPUEDjyMGE_lnc 

^^  '''^1    Lasl    Main    ■>t,ept 

— ^  »oi.h«ster,    Nfw    York  U609        USA 

-^  .  M6!   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

SB  ;,  '16)    i88  -  ^989  ■■  fa- 


^  2  "2    C, 


THE    COPPER    MINES 


OF 


LAKE    SUPERIOR 


BY 


T.  A.  RICKARD 


lUJlTOR  OF  Tin;  KNOINKKKINC.  ANU  MINING  JOLKNAI.;  ASSIK'IATf 
OK  Till-:   KOYAL  SCllOOl     i)K   MINKS,    MEMBER  OK    THE  AMER- 
ICAN   INSTITUTE  OK  MININC.  ENGINEERS;  MEMBER  OF  THE 
INSTITUTION  OK  MIMNC.  ANU  METALLURGY;  MEMBER 
OF  THE   NORTH  OK   ENGLAND   INSTITUTE  OF  MIN- 
ING AND  MECHANICAL  ENGINEERS;  STATE  GE- 
OLOGIST OF  COLORADO  FROM    ismTOi„oi; 
AUTHOR  OK    'THE    STAMP-MILLING    OF 
GOLD  ores;  'ACROSS  THE  SAN  JUAN 
MOUNTAINS'    AND     THE     SAM- 
PLING AND  ESTIMATION  OF 
(JRE  IN  A  MINE.' 


First  Editio  . 


First  Thousand. 


NEW   YORK   &  LONDON 

THii   ENGINEtRlNG  5:    MINING   JOURNAL 

1905. 


7 


Tii  i'-'.  .  M6  K'O 


CoPVRIliHT.   IDOS 
BY 

THIC   liMllNKKRlNU  AND  MIMVC,  JOfKNAU 


THIS  I.ITTI.K   IUK)K 


DEDICATED 


JOHN    STANTON 


IN    CORDIAL    AI'I'RHCIA1!U>.    OF    I.:KE-1.0M;    SERVICES, 
WHICH    HAVE  BENEFITED  NOT  ONLV  THE  COP- 
PER   MINES    OF    THE     I  PI'EH    I  V- 
Sl  LA,  Bl'T    THE    BP-.T  I.NTE 
ESTS  OF  A  WORLr.-WI',K 
INDIST  :  . 


127597 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

PHEFACE   7 

1.    IXTHOmCTOHY 11 

II.    GEOUXiY 22 

III.  EaHI.Y   HllSTOHY 35 

IV.  CAHMK.r  iV-  Ur.ri.\ 42 

V.  Later  Histohy 50 

VI.  Coi'i'EU  Kaxge  Consolidated ,V"i 

VII.  MixiN(;  Methods.    The  QtiNCY 02 

VIII.  Atlantic  and  Woi.vehine     Mines 72 

IX.  The  Haltic.     Mining  Methods  Heviewed ,S3 

X.  Mas.s  CoppEn 08 

XI.  ExPLOIfATIOV 108 

XII.  Milling  Methods 117 

XIII.  Smelting  Pkactice 142 

XIV.  The  Men  Who  D-d  It 152 

XV.  A  Last  Glanc  e 100 


..sv.jm  .z*.. 


T'lSBft^ir  i^-'-.-^-mw-j'-  «ri..  ,«•— .'■j.'^HEai- 


PREFACE 


Any  good  American,  desirous  of  impressing  an  intelligent 
visitor  from  anotiier  country,  say,  for  example,  Macaulay's 
New  Zealauuer,  with  tiie  permanent  and  profitable  char- 
acter of  the  mining  industrj-  of  the  United  J^tates,  would 
be  wise  in  choosing  tiie  copper  country  by  tn^.  ureat  Lakes 
in  preference  to  any  other  of  our  splendid  mineral  regions. 
Sixty  years  of  jiroductiveness  represent  history  in  our 
unresting  industrial  growth;  an  amiual  yield  of  200,000,000 
pounds  of  refined  copper  is  in  itself  impressive,  for  it 
means  15  per  cent  of  the  total  output  of  the  world;  mines 
one  mile  in  vertical  deptii  appeal  to  the  imagination;  a  sin- 
gle stamp  that  crushes  700  tons  of  ore  per  diem  has  a  thun- 
derous way  of  proclaiming  its  importance;  well-ordered 
conwnunities  aggregating  about  80,000  self-respecting 
people  indicate  favorable  conditions  of  living;  and,  when 
the  visitor  is  weary  of  the  inmiensity  of  the  operations 
carried  out  by  man  on  the  Knveenaw  Peninsula,  he  can 
turn  with  deep  restfulness  to  the  splendor  of  earth  and  sky, 
to  the  licauty  of  forest  and  wave,  to  the  long  promontories 
dividing  the  surface  of  Lake  Superior,  and  the  blue  line 
of  the  Huron  mountains. 

As  the  traveler  journeys  from  Buffalo  to  Houghton,  and 
tlience  to  Duluth,  on  a  steamer  itself  of  dimensions  that 
challenge  many  Atlantic  liners,  he  is  stimulated  by  a 
swiftly  moving  panorama  of  shores  on  which  every  kind 
of  industrial  development  is  proceeding;  he  will  encounter 
tiie  ^•a.st  freightage  which  bears  the  produce  of  the  north- 
western wheat  fields,  the  iron  ores  that  are  the  material 
foundation  of  modern  civilization,  the  lumber  from  the 
Michigan  forests,  and  the  copper  on  its  way  to  the  refineries 
of  New  Jersey ;  this  traffic  being  met  by  vessels  heavily  laden 


-^^Y-ii.\.,f 


j-*>«Ia 


s 


PREFACE. 


with  coal,  nicrchaiidise,  iiiachiiiciy  and  the  immense  sup- 
plii's  fonwiimed  in  tlie  ex])loitation  of  natural  resources  of 
ji'roat  divei'sity.  He  will  he  on  an  internal  waterway  which 
is  2, KM)  miles  lonjr  from  Duluth  to  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  a  continental  line  of  connnunication  the  traffic 
of  which,  as  measured  at  the  locks  of  the  Sault  Ste.  .Marie, 
is  more  than  double  that  of  the  Suez  canal.  And  it  is 
impressive,  not  as  measured  by  tonnajte  alone,  but  because 
instead  of  the  sand  marshes  of  Suez,  the  barren  mountains 
of  Sinai,  and  the  blisterinp;  deserts  of  the  Libyan  coast,  this 
jrreat  conmiercial  artery  of  North  America  separates,  and 
unites,  two  Enftlish-s|)eaking  nations  whose  n.ultitudinous 
enerjiies  are  ex])ressed  in  an  iminterrupted  succession  of 
mills  and  factories,  docks  and  railroads,  and  a  continuous 
line  of  throbl)iiijr  steamers  that  bear  the  comme're  of  a 
continent  down  the  long-linked  series  of  lakes,  canals  and 
rivers  to  the  marts  of  the  world. 

It  is  this  mining  region  which  I  have  endeavored  to 
describe,  by  the  aid  of  olxservations  and  information 
secured  during  three  weeks  in  the  sunnner  of  1904.  For 
nuich  of  my  material  I  am  indebted  to  the  courte.sy  of  mine 
managers  and  engineers,  whose  names  are  mentioned,  with 
grateful  acknowledgment,  in  the  pages  that  follow. 
During  the  whole  of  my  stay  at  Houghton  I  received  the 
help,  and  fre(|uently  tlie  stimulating  companionship,  of 
.Mr.  1".  W.  McXair,  president  of  the  Michigan  t'ollege  of 
Mines,  and  of  Mr.  L.  S.  Austin,  professor  of  metallurgy  in 
that  most  efficient  technical  institution.  To  these  two 
friends  I  am  under  particular  obligations. 

(^ne  matter,  to  which  I  regret  to  refer,  requires  mention 
in  this  account  of  the  copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior;  for, 
unpretentious  as  my  story  is,  I  desire  it  to  be  an  honest 
portrayal  of  mining  affairs  in  the  Upper  Peninsula  during 
the  year  liM)4.     Therefore,  this  explanatif)n. 

Those  who  read  these  pages  will  be  surprisetl — and  dis- 
appointed—to find  only  scant  reference  to  the  two  mines 


PREFACE. 


wliich  liavc  doiio  most  to  j^ivc  the  region  a  world-wide 
celebrity;  I  refer  to  the  Calumet  A:  Hecla  and  Tamarack. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  oeyoml  the  impressiveness  of  .size  and 
the  romance  of  a  great  production,  the  engineer  is  likely  to 
find  the  younger  mines  as  rich  in  suggestion  and  interest,  as 
the  two  great  projA-rties  referred  to.    Nevertheless,  the  fact 
hat  they  follow  a  conglomerate  lode,  while  the  other  mines 
—all,  save  the  Franklin  Junior — are  founded  upon  beds  of 
amygdaloid,  gives  them  a  peculiar  geologic  interest,  height- 
ened by  tlu>  analogy  with  the  'banket'  of  the  Rand.     Fur- 
thermore, their  workings  have  reached  the  depth  of  5,00() 
ft.,  an<l  they  must  therefore  afford  interesting  data  concern- 
ing the  obstacles  to  deep  mining.     These  two  matters  of 
interest   I  was   unable   to  study  and  describe.    Since  the 
object  of  the  investigation  made  by  nie  was  simply  to  afford 
data  which  might  prove  useful  to  professional  men  in  other 
districts  and  in  other  countries,  and  at  the  .same  time  elicit 
corresponding  information  for  the  use  of  my  friends  in 
.Michigan,  1  regret  the  refusal  of  admittance  to  these  two 
mines.     As  a  mine  manager  of  experience.  I  understand 
that  the  indiscriminate  admission  tmderground  of  laymen 
and  tourists  is  a  source  of  danger  and  entails  a  consumption 
of  time  on  the  part  of  the  staff  such  as  the  i)ul)lic  does  not 
appreciate;  Init  the  closing  of  mines  to  properly  accredited 
mining  men  is  a  different  matter.    Do  the  directors  of  these 
two  companies  api)reciate  that  1)9  jjer  cent  of  the  knowledge 
upon  which  their  highly  successful  operations  are  based,  is 
knowledge  which  was  given  gratuitously  by  other  men 
working  other  mines?    Of  the  improvements  introduced  at 
the  Calumet  it  Hecla  and  the  Tamarack  during,  say,  the 
last  ten  years,  liow  much  was  a  free  gift  coming  from  the 
experience  of  mining  engineers  not  in  the  employ  of  these 
companies,   but   engaged   elsewhere?    ^fine  managers  do 
not  get  knowledge  by  spontaneous  cerebration.     However, 
in  making  a  ])rotest  against  a  practice  which  goes  against  all 
the  instincts  of  a  generous  profession.  I  do  not  criticise  the 


10 


PREFACE. 


gentlemen  who  are  in  cliarge  (if  these  two  properties;  on  the 
c  )ntrary,  I  acknowledjic  personal  courtesies  which  it  will 
always  be  pleasant  to  reineniher,  and  I  appreciate  cordially 
how  humiliating  it  nnist  l)e  to  them  to  be  unable  to  afford 
the  facilities  which  will  invarialjly  bo  afforded  to  them  when 
they  visit  their  professional  friends  in  other  parts  of  the 
world. 

T.  A.  RiCKARD. 

New  York,  December  lo,  1904. 


i     ■■ 


aBismeeejt<tmm  t^  4 


-WSr  VWIGiiABK ' 


'.TffltAjMUAJ  yVKM 


THE     COPPER     MINES 


OF 


LAKE  SUPERIOR 


H 


F 


I . — Introductory. 

the  roatler  will  take  a  map  of  North  America  and 
look    at   the   Cireat    Lakes  which  separate  the 
I  i         United  States  from  Canada,  he  will  see  a  soli- 
J  tary  tongue  of  land  projecting  from  the  south 

I  shore  into  the  center  of   Lake  Superior.     That 

I  i.s  the  Keweenaw  peninsula,  a  jiart  of  the  State 

of  Michigan,  and  the  copper-mming  region  which 
it  is  my  purpose  to  liescribe.  On  a  map  of  the  United  States 
it  will  appear  that  Houghton  is  an  inland  town  in  the  south- 
central  portion  of  the  penii.sula,  and  there  will  be  but  little 
hint  of  the  fact  that  it  is  situatod  on  a  watervvay  which 
rentiers  the  northern  half  of  the  region,  not  a  peninsula,  but 
an  insula.  The  Portage  lake  and  river,  with  the  canal  that 
lorms  the  western  outlet  to  Lake  Superior,  are,  in  fact,  only 
links  in  that  long  line  of  water  communication  which 
reaches  from  Duluth,  through  the  Great  Lak?s,  to  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  a  total  ."istance  of  2.100  miles. 
The  wheatfiolds  of  Manitoba,  the  iron  ores  of  Minnesota, 
Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  the  copper  of  the  Michigan  mines 
and  the  lumber  of  the  forests,  all  reach  an  outlet  along  this 
inland  waterway,  so  that  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  the 
locks  at  the  Sault  Sie.  Marie  register  a  tonnage  which,  for 
the  eight  months  of  navigation,  is  more  than  double  that 
which  passes  through  the  Suez  canal  during  an  entire  year. 
In  190.3  the  traffic  passing  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  amounted  to 


^^HR^^^ 


#  ■:>,■.  V. 


THE  COI'I'Eli  MIXHS 


^•\ is^* '^^%^>  . r^J5«f^'^f«rxiHnK^ 


-'^i.ia^:*?*^ 


14 


THE  LOl'l'KR  MINKS 


:U,G74,4;>7  tuns,  on  whicli  frfijuht  cluirgos  amounting  to 
$20,727,7:55  were  paid.  .Mineral  products  were  as  follows: 
Iron  ore,  21,<»54,SUS  tons;  eoal,  G.'J.'57,G;«  tons;  copper, 
1 12.S77  tons,  and  salt,  454,822  barrels. 

From  New  York,  the  traveler  goes  liy  train.  440  miles  in 
nine  hours,  to  iiuffalo,  and  tiiere  takes  steamer.  The 
Xorlli  Wed,  on  which  I  traveled,  is  IWO  ft.  long,  44  ft.  beam, 
iuis  a  rating  of  5,(MM)  tons,  with  S,(KX)  h.p.,  and  draws  17  ft. 
of  water.  It  is  not  many  years  since  such  a  vessel  would 
have  Ijeen  considered  a  large  craft,  even  on  t4ie  Atlantic. 
Comparison  may  Ije  made  with  the  White  8tar  steamers  on 
the  Pacific,  which  are  420  to  441  ft.  long,  42  to  44  ft.  wide, 
with  a  rating  of  4,205  to  4,G7G  tons. 

Trom  Buffalo  to  Houghton  the  distance  is  SU  miles, 
which  reciuircd  a  voyage  of  three  nights  and  two  days — 
days  of  unclouded  beauty,  sjient  on  (juiet  waters  and 
diversified  by  the  swiftly  moving  panorama  of  a  country 
undergoing  a  variety  of  industrial  develoinnent.  On  a 
sunny  morning  in  August  the  Xorth  Went  steamed  up  the 
arm  of  Portage  lake,  here  oidy  half  a  mile  wide,  and  drew 
up  at  the  wharf  just  below  the  drawbridge  uniting  the 
towns  of  Houghton  and  Hancock,  which  lie  at  the  foot  of 
two  facing  hilklopes  of  gentle  demeanor.  Beyond  the 
drawbridge  the  shiuunering  waters  of  Portage  Arm  disap- 
peared ar(>i.nd  a  wooded  bend.  The  scene  breathed  a  quiet 
and  orderly  spirit ;  there  was  none  of  the  uncouth  ruggedness 
or  the  scpialid  um-est  which  one  a.ssociates  with  mining  activ- 
ity; the  air  contrasted  refreshingly  with  the  sweltering  tur- 
moil of  New  York  City ;  and,  not  till  I  recognized  the  shaft- 
houses  on  Quincy  hill,  the  smoke  of  the  smelters  at  Han- 
cock, the  buzz  of  a  hvely  saw-mill,  and  the  cluster  of  red 
buildings  ir.arking  the  College  of  Mines,  did  I  realize  that  T 
had  indeed  reached  the  port  of  entry  to  a  mining  region 
famous  througiiout  the  four  corners  of  the  globe. 

The  larger  number  of  productive  copper  mines  are  in  the 
northeri.  nart  of  the  peninsula,  in  a  series  extending  from 


OF  LAKH  Sn'ElilOU. 


15 


> 


< 


'A 

< 


16 


rill-:  cori'KH  ml\ks 


Hancock  to  laliimet,  and  a  little  l)oy<)tul,  iiiakiiiji  1')  iiiih-s 
altoj^fther;  atiotlicr  important  Kroiip  of  ^rowinji  iiiinos  is 
found  south  of  llonjjlitoii,  to  a  distance  of  S  miles.  Hevond 
this  continuous  mininji  l)clt,  there  is  the  outlyinjj  district  of 
Hajile  Hiver  alon>;  tlu-  nortlicrn  cdfjo  of  the  peninsula,  and 
to  the  south  there  is  the  Ontonaj^on  country.  'I'he  accom- 
panying map  will  make  this  clear. 

The  presiMit  jjopulation  of  tins  mininj;  district  is  about 
7S.(MK),  of  whom  :{S,(MM)  are  distributed  over  the  town  of 
Calumet  and  its  adjoining  suburbs  of  Laiirium,  Red  Jacket, 
Blue  Jacket.  Ilubbell  and  Limerick.  Hesides  the  towns 
mentioned,  there  are  smaller  .settlements,  mainly  of  work- 
men's houses,  near  the  Centennial.  Wolverine,  Mohawk  and 
otiier  individual  mines,  .\cross  l'orta{r<'  lake,  on  the  South 
Range,  there  is  a  villajje  of  about  ."MMK)  people  at  Atlantic, 
with  smaller  conummities  nt  Huron.  Trimnuntain  and 
I'ainesdale.  At  Hancock  there  are  7.000  and  at  Houghton 
only  t.tMMl  inhaliitants.  Hancock  and  Houghton  are 
ilivided  by  the  arm  of  Portage  lake,  but  united  l)y  a  tlraw- 
bridge.  Both  are  pretty,  clean-looking  connnunities.  the 
i)etter  residences  l)eing  on  College  avemie.  <t\(>rl()oking  the 
water  and  dominated  by  several  fine  buildings,  among  them 
the  East  Houghton  school  and  the  imposing  cluster  which 
marks  the  Colle<^  ■:>(  .Mines.  An  excellent  electric  car 
service  unites  the  twin  towns  with  Calumet.  12  miles 
distant.  This  large  settlement  i.-^  more  evidently  a  mining 
conniiunity.  because  the  big  shaft-houses  of  the  Tamarack 
and  Calumet  A-  Hecla  mines  soar  above  the  streets  and 
dominate  the  surrounding  houses  in  a  lordly  way.  Calumet 
is  a  conumniitv  of  many  nationalities;  among  the  workmen 
employe  I  by  .e  Calumet  &  Hecla  mine.  :?S  nations  are 
represented.  ence  the  nuiltiplicity  of  religions  and  the 
cnrrespondii.^  <liversity  of  'thirst-parlors';  one  might  say 
that  there  is  a  conglomeration  of  churches  and  an  amyg- 
daloid of  saloons.  When  walking  the  streets,  one  overhears 
many  strange  languages,  from  the  homely  Corni.sh  dialect 


OF  LAKE  sri'KHlOH. 


17 


18 


TIIK  CUl'l'HU  MISES 


to  the  foreitjn  iiccciits  of  linlaml.  There  are  -sijjim  and 
names  variotwly  inteUiRihlf  to  the  traveler,  according  to 
the  |)rcvaiHiiK  humitlity,  t'roiu  I'aiva  Lihti  to  Soumalninen 
S(il(t<)nki!  XotwithstaiKhiig  the  extraonlimiry  mixture  of 
races,  ilisonlerly  scenes  are  rare  ami  the  iK)Uce  are  con- 
spicuously few  in  numlH'r,  one  reason  |)rol)ahly  \mi\ii  the 
insular  jjosition  of  the  district,  exit  from  which  is  either 
over  tlie  Houghton-Hancock  bridge  or  by  boat  on  the 
surrounding  v/aters. 

Wliile  underground  at  the  Hultic  mine,  on  the  Houth 
Range,  I  saw  a  cod«^  of  signals  at  the  sliaft-station,  the 
explanations  Ijcing  given  in  English,  Fiimish  and  Italian, 
respectively.  At  the  Wolverine  the  changing  house  is 
arranged  for  various  nationalitit>s,  the  English  taking  one 
end  of  a  changing  room  and  Italians  the  other;  in  a  second 
room  the  Austrians  have  one  half,  while  the  other  is  set 
aside  for  Finns. 

Of  the  numerous  luitionalities  the  Cornish  are  eminently 
the  l^est  miners,  and  next  to  them  come  the  Finns.  In  early 
days  the  Irish  were  more  numerous  than  at  present,  and 
they  used  to  have  fre(iuent  'scraps'  with  the  Cousin  Jacks, 
as  the  men  from  Cornwall  are  called.  When  the  Swedes 
and  I'iims  l)egan  to  come  in.  the  Irish  and  Cornish  tended 
to  draw  together.  The  Fimis  are  s<>parated  by  a  distinct 
cleavage  into  "temperance  Finns"  and  the  "others";  the 
latter  are  apt  to  be  rampagious  when  under  the  influence. 
The  former  make  excellent  citizens;  they  come  from  a 
rigorous  climate  and  an  ungrateful  soil,  and  they  are  now 
cultivating  the  forest  clearing  with  such  marked  success  as 
to  develop  a  profitable  agriculture  in  this  northern  country. 
They  do  not  stick  to  mining  long;  from  trammers  they 
graduate  quickly  to  miners,  and  then,  after  about  ten  years 
of  continuous  work,  according  to  the  amount  of  their 
savings,  they  cither  take  up  a  tract  and  clear  the  forest 
from  it.  or  b\iy  a  farm  already  made. 

The  miners  are  mainiv  Cornishmen  and  Finns;  the  tram- 


^1 


^Mm^^7W^^^0^^ 


■^U^i.^ 


■<J 


OF  LAKE  SVI'ERIOH  19 

mors  aro  Fimis,  Italians  an.l  Aiistrians;  the  ti.iilM>r  gang  is 

ai)t  to  havfat'ornishnian  a.s  cluef.with  Austrians  for  hehx-w 
Tl...  lattor  are  really  Croatia.m,  for  the  most  part;  they  are 
<in.et.  hard  working  an.l  jn-aceahlo.    The  Italians  are  often 
<livi.le.l  among  themselves   hy  feu.ls  i.lentified   with  the 
localities  of  their  ..rlgin  (tho«e  who  know  Italy,  are  aware 
<.f  the  i.nt.pathy  In-twrn,  the  |KK.,.le  of  separate  provinces)  • 
he  cons.H,uenceis  that  at  the  present  tune  n.ost  of  the 
Italians  in  this  district  come  from  1'ie.lmont;  and    when 
any  miners  arrive  from  other  parts  of  Italy,  they  are 
treated  as  'outsiders.'  getting    so  little  help    from  their 
compatriots  that  they  usually  depart  to  more  hospitable 
surroundings.     The  Finn,  are  an.bitious,  stubborn  and 
thrifty;  they  are  quite  separate  from  the  Norwegians  an.l 
.Swe.les;  they  work  hani  and  are  generally  educated  to  the 
point  of  a  little  reading  and  writing,  -  hich  cannot  be  said 
of  all  the  other  foreigners.    But  the  Cornishmen  hold  their 
own.  beyond  question;  they  are  the  most  capable  miners 
having  a  great  eye  for  ore.  and  an  hereditary  instinct  for 
reading  the  signs"  underground.    At  the  Atlantic  mine 
where  a  low-grade  ore  has  cau.sed  tne  contract  .system  to 
act  as  a  process  of  natural  selection,  the  Cousin  JacLs  have 
proved  the  most  fit  to  survive  amid  keen  co     .etition,  the 
result  of  which  is  expressed  by  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
miners  are  Cornish,  with  a  few  Finns,  the  latter  often 
"mking  up  m  muscle  and  persistence  for  lack  of  inherited 
instinct    The  Cornish  hate  shoveling,  and  prefer  to  do  the 
ac  ual  brealnng  of  ground,  and  for  this  reason  thev  are 
better  miners  than  laborers.    Many  good  stories  are  tdd  of 
them :    One  day  a  superintendent,   making  his   rounds, 
called  up  to  a  couple  of  Cornishmen  who  had  a  hard  con- 

.  ™,    u.     -""'^"^  ^"'''  *'""^''  "■^'■^  ^"'"P-    "H"^-  i«  it,  boys'" 

-Iighty   ard.  Cap'n;  she's  pretty  tough."     "Well    bovs 

brace  up;  what  you  want  is  pride  and  perseverance  io  help 

r^'-       "rTr-    ""^'"'*'    »  He  heard  the  two  miners: 
!^ay.   Bill,  who  be  they.  Pride  and  Perseverance?"     "T 


e*v:"3P^^ 


20 


THE  COI'PKU  MIXES 


douii't  know,  Tom— piess  tliey  be  the  t\U)  I'iims  in  the 
next  stope." 

Rarely  is  the  lal)oiiiijr  man  better  off  than  in  tliis  district. 
Wage ,  average  from  S2.:i()  to  82.50  per  shift  for  miners,  and 
from  $2  to  .$2.25  for  tramnierti,  contractors  doing  abovit  25 
per  cent  better.  Board  i.s  from  816  to  SIS  per  month;  tiie 
rent  of  a  four-room  house  i.s  from  84  to  80  per  montli.  Tiie 
companies  buikl  substantial  dwellings,  usually  with  stone 
foundations,  arranged  in  orderly  rows,  whose  neatness  and 
regularityhave  not  much  of  the  picturesque, but  bespeak  far 
healthier  conditions  than  that  mingling  of  the  scpialid  and 
romantic  whicli  characterizes  other  n.ining  camps.  At 
I'ainesdale  and  at  Calumet,  two  presidents  of  well-known 
mining  companies  have  given  library  buildings  for  the  u.^^e 
of  w(irkmen:  and  at  Hotighton,  tiie  College  of  Mines  lias  a 
reference  library  of  worthy  projiortions.  Tlie  necessities  of 
life  are  not  higii:  tiie  climate  is  healthy;  good  sciiools  are 
plentiful;  hospitals  are  ea><ily  available;  and,  on  the  wliole, 
it  is  obvious  tliat  tlie  miner  in  tiiis  region  is  better  off  than 
the  higher  paid  men  who  live  amid  llie  desolation-  of 
.\rizonaand  Nevaila,or  among  tlie  even  more  l)rutalizing 
environments  of  such  places  as  IJutte  City  and  Broken  Hill. 

The  copper  mines  owe  to  T.ake  Superior  more  than 
their  geographical  habitat.  Their  milling  practice  lias  been 
modified  profoundly  by  the  unlimited  supply  of  fresli  water 
available  for  the  mills,  which,  reiiuiring  as  they  do  about 
.S,.")00,000  gal.  i)er  stamp  per  day,  would  soon  exhaust  an 
ordinary  inland  stream ;  the  splendid  forests  that  clothe  the 
sm-rounding  country  have  furnished  the  enormous  supply 
of  timber  reciuired  for  the  support  of  excavations  under- 
ground ;  and  the  tax  upon  even  the  resplendent  woodlands 
of  ^licliigan  can  l>e  appreciated  when  it  is  stated  that  the 
Tamarack  mine  alone  engulfs  half  a  miHion  feet,  board 
measure,  of  timber  monthly.  Beside  wood  antl  water,  the 
mines  have  been  furnished  a  magnificent  highway  of 
transport.     An    excellent    bituminous    coal    comes    from 


-^M^:i 


y 


:>... 


OF  LAKE  tiUl'EIuoU.  21 

rUt^bur,.  150  ,Hil..s  l,y  land  to  Clevclan.l,  a„.l  thence  by 

to  40    ents  is  the  stean.er  freight,  and  S  cents  per  ton' the 
cost  of  nnloadhijr. 
The  loadinjr  and  unloading  is  done  on  a  l,ig  scale-  at 
Un-ean,     byt^ 
M  tons  of  coal  a,.,ec,.  e.nptied  bodily,  as  if  they  were  sn.al! 
H^kets.  n.to  a  ^.essel.  at  the  rate  of  ,,000  tons  per  h  u" 
and.  wlnle  I  was  at  Honghton.  the  Martin  Mullen   a   ake 
stcan,er.  brought  a  load  of  7,200  tons  of  coal,  and  u.doaded 


4J  hours      lho..e  facts  in,prc«.sed  n.e  as  I  remembered  the 

-ahng  of  a  n,ail  stean,er  at  Port  Said :  a  long  ^^^ 

^  wal bug  a  gang  plank,  carrying  coal  in  littl  willow  brk. 

.on  then-  heads  entering  one  hatchway,  dischargi  ^  tSr 

l>"'-<len  and  trotting  down  a  neighboring  gangwat    Ci    ' 

monotonously  all  the  time,  with  the  residt  thaT  he'p  sSn' 

gers  were  g.ven  S  to  lOhoursof  sooty  unpleasantne'^-^ 

a  few  hundred  tons  of  coal  were  taken  aboard 


II. 


iKOI.OliY. 


Tlie  Kcwepiiaw  peninsula,  as  measured  alonj;  its  line  of 
ilejjarture  from  the  mainland,  is  about  40  miles  across,  east 
to  west,  and  extends  northeastward  into  Lake  Superior  for 
about  70  miles.  It  is  dominated  by  a  central  i)lateau  risinj? 
to  ()(M)  ft.  above  tlie  lake  '.  ^-el,  the  <;eneral  structure  being 
that  of  a  broad  backbone  of  uptilted  beds,  largely  of  vol- 
canic origin.  Hanked  on  both  sides  by  .sandstones,  whose 
eroded  edges  slope  u'i'ior  glacial  drift  to  the  shore.  At 
Portage  lake,  where  the  peninsula  is  cut  in  two,  the  width 
is  less  than  twenty  miles. 

The  backbone  of  this  landspur  is  a  wide  belt  of  rocks 
known  as  the  Keweenaw  series,  comprising  a  .succession  of 
lavas  of  extrusive  origin  with  iiiterbedded  layers  of  sand- 
stone and  conglomerate.  While  the  igneous  members  of  the 
series  are  coni])osed  of  rocks  differing  in  chemical  and 
physical  constitution,  thej'  can  be  described  briefly  as 
varieties  of  diabase,'  consi(lera1)ly  altered,  with  which  are 
a.ssociated  rocks  of  greater  acidity,  from  pori^hyrites  to 
(juartz  ]iorpliyries.  The  conglomerates  are  com])osed  of 
rounded  fragments  of  thes(>  rocks,  the  more  acid  predom- 
iuiiting 

The  Keweenaw  series  has  a  thickness  of  2.'),0(H)  to  .30,000 
ft.,"  and  in  adjacent  regions  the  tliL^kness  is  even  greater. 

■  '  Diahnse'  is  the  tcnii  einplovcil  ))y  Irvitiir,  'in('ln|)liyr'  that  used 
j)y  I'ninpclly,  and  'im>la])liyri''  hy  the  Michiiiaii  Gcoloiiica!  Suivov. 
Tlic  .'^tatc  .Survey,  of  lato  ye.irs.  lias  tried  to  reserve  the  term  'dia- 
l)ase'  for  iiilrusivc  rocUs,  ahhouaili  some  of  the  Keweenaw  beds  uri- 
doulitedly  liave  the  structure  of  (haliasp.  (See  Vol.  VI,  Ft.  I,  pp. 
lfi!l  and  iL'O.)  'Melaphyre'  as  a  roek  name  is  now  almost  obsolete; 
"it  should  he  restricted  (o  an  altered  type  and  preferentially  to 
the  oilier  altere<l  basalts.  The  melaphyres  will  tliiMi  bear  somewhat 
the  same  relation  to  bas.alt  that  the  diabases  do  to  the  doleritps,  and 
porphyrites  tolheandesife.s,''  (Geikie).  In  my  descriptions  I  shall 
Use  the  term  'trar'  as  a  ijcneral  m.nio  forthe  darkifiueous  rocks  of 
the  district,  both  diabase  and'porphyrite. 

■'  Irvini;  and  l!ominu:er. 


COPl'ER  MI\'E. 


23 


24 


THE  COPPER  MINES 


Tlii'ir  strike,  witliiii  tlio  iiiiiiinji  district,  is  from  nortii  20° 

east   t rtii  M°  cast,  witli  a    variable  iiortluvest  dip, 

becDiiiiiif;  steeper  soutliward.  The  aeei)iii])aiiyiii<i  diafiraiii- 
iiiatie  section  will  jiivc  an  idea  of  the  geological  section 
across  tile  mining  region  anywhere  between  Houghton  and 
Calumet.  Ontlie  east, sandstone  betls  abut  unconformably 
against  the  Keweenaw  rocks;  tliese  sandstones  dip  slightly 
to  the  southeast,  and.  by  their  fossils,''  are  known  to  be  tiic 
eciuivalents  of  tiie  I'otsdam  formation  of  New  York,  this 
being  the  top  of  liie  Cambrian.  The  sandstones  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  peninsula,  and  overlying  the  Keweenaw 
rocks  in  api)arent  conformity,  were  considered  by  Rominger 
to  be  of  identical  age  and  as  iiaviug  been  at  one  time  con- 
tinuous over  the  'traj).'  that  is.  the  diaba.se  layers  of  the 
Keweenaw  series.'  I'mupelly  and  Irving  thought  that  tiiis 
re(iuire(l  too  nuu'ii  erosion.  Wadswortii  claimed  tluit  the 
Keweenaw  rocks  are  in  ]>laces  superj)osed  o\-er  tlie  ea.stern 
sandstone.  The  matter  is  fiulher  com])licated  l)y  a  vertical 
l)lane  of  demarkation  along  the  contact  of  the  trap  series 
and  the  en^t.rn  sandstone,  it  being  an  open  (juestion 
whether  tiiis  l)reak  in  continuity  is  a  gigantic  fault  or  merely 
the  cliff  marking  an  ancient  shore  line,  rumpelly  and 
Jirooks  iield  that  the  eroded  conformable  downward 
e\t(>nsion  of  the  Keweenaw  series  would  be  foiuid  under  the 
eastern  sandstone;  while  Irving  ami  Chamberlain  considered 
that  the  east  face  of  the  Keweenaw  series  rej)resente(l  a 
fault-scarj).  tlie  (lownth^o^Ml  ]iart  of  the  series  being  under 
these  eastern  sandstones.  Ilubliard  holds  to  the  existence 
of  "an  eroded  line  of  steeply  dip]>ing  and  somewhat  corru- 
gated tra]>s,  against  whose  nnu-al  faces  and  over  whose 
Kciitle  slopes  respectively,  the  eastern  sandstone  was  laid 
down."' 

■' Kouml  onlv  ill  tin'  Mcni)iiiiiicc  <listrirt. 

*  C.  Hoiiiinser.     'CcolofricMl  Survey  of  MicliiL'mi.'  Vol    V    Tt    I 
p  92.  .       .     , 

■"Geolo<rio!il  .'^urvf.v  of  Micliiwni,'  \o].  VI,  It.  IT   pn  8S-91  and 
p.  121. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.  25 

,„f^f  .h'T'  "■"'  "'■''  ^"""''  '"  "' '  transverse  fissures 
crossing  the  Keweenaw  series  at  ti.e  northern  end  of  the 

fi,,.  ■    ^^'"iiuJi}  It  wiis  provec    that 

tl.'."  eoppcT  ocenrred  elsewhere,  even  M,..,e  .Jk-o,,  v  h 
ccrtuu.  n.en.l>ers  of  the  series,  fonnin,  in.pr^  li  ^^'j; 
ormabl.-  to  the  stratification  and  identified  whh  sZ 

.,  •       ,  ""^'  'ajCTs  ot  which  are  aniv-dalni,!-.] 

stieanis.     As  the  pores  or  amyfr.iules  hecoine  filled  with 

laxa  theie    >  produced  an  amyjrdaloidal  diabase      These 
|--v.n„s  beds  have  becoiLe  the  place  of  ore  deposition  ami 

.inmcMte  la3ers  also  have  l,eo„  p,i,i,hed  with  conner  in 

co..a.n  localities  so  as  to  afford  a  basis  for  profitable       ,,; 

rie  mineral  range'  of  this  region  consists  of  a  belt  f  r  m 

our  o  SIX  nnles  wide,  constituting  the  eastern  portk^  of  ^ 

roni  a  tew  feet  to  more  than  100  ft     the  indiv,-,l„..i  i 
be.n.  distinguishable,  where  they  ^i^!  ^i^t^  ^    ^^^ 
b«.  of  conglon,erate.  I>y  the  a.nygdaloidal  cha^^er  S 

nolX;  '    ';:'""  "  r  "^"^■^^'"'•>'  ^-'-  ^^  vesicmar. 

.nine   It  on  f ''""  ''^  '''  ^''"■"""-  ^"'°'--  '^^'^  -^-e 

_-;^£>aI^t.on  h.s  been  accoinpanicl  by  the  oxidation  of 

n.:,^ 'p:r:;;:t;;:;;jr  ;;f  ''^^^^  r'  'r  ^  ?"""^'  -'^-" 

havo  l,ee„  i,„rm|,,d.  LtuCo  llni'lTu  f  f"  ""''•  *'''"'^''  '*  '""v 
followed  e.iol.  otlu-r  it  r.niJ  It  1  •  *°  ''*:."  ''P'''^*  o''  "ows  tlijit 
Michigan.' Vo].-VII>t    II  p^-t"'^'^'''''""-      G'^olo.cical  Survey   of 

f ho  bottom  and  topV.oL"rnXbv '"-/''"/"";  "^  '■■^^••>  ^♦'•'- '  ' 
;"><l  the  cold  air.  res'Uc  '  efv  l^|  o  the  inf  •••"*  ""'l''.*'"'  ''"''•  ^«^f«f« 
Ions  time.  Sinuin  co  .ditim^s  e^,,* "iV"  h""'^"*?'"''  *♦*"  heuf,  for  a 
dunipinjr  of  a  sine  pot  '^  observed  by  watciiin^  the 


2G 


77/ A'  COri'ER  MIXES 


the  iron,  l.abrailorito.  ninl  a  ferruginous  clilorito  allied  to 
(Iclessite,  are  the  essential  constituents  of  these  traps,'  but 
they  owe  many  of  their  most  notable  characteristics  to 
metamorphism,  in  the  course  of  which  chlorite  has  been 
formed  from  hornblende  or  augite,  and  epidote  has  filled 
the  amygdules. 

Funhermore.  these  amygdules  contain  a  great  variety  of 
minerals,  those  now  seen  being  chiefly  secondary  products 
which  have  rei)laced  tiie  original  occupant  of  the  cavity. 
Calcite,  ([uartz,  laumonthe,  preluiite,  aiialcite  and  datoUte 
may  be  mentioned,  beside  the  epidote  and  chlorite,  and 
finally  tliere  is  that  most  important  mineral  of  all— native 
copper.  This  is  fomid  crystalline  in  its  own  form,  but 
frequently  it  has  tiie  shape  of  the  amygdule  which  it  fills, 
or,  more  rarely,  it  has  the  form  of  some  other  mineral 
which  it  has  replaced.  Both  the  amygdaloids  and  the  con- 
glomerates are  hea\ily  impregnatetl  with  epidote.  Some 
of  the  ])orous  epidotic  amygdaloid  layers  have  had  copper 
deposited  in  them  to  such  an  extent  as  to  produce  large 
hackly  masses  of  metal  weighing  several  tons. 

The  (Juincy  lode,  for  instance,  is  essentially  a  soft  l)rown 
and  green  amygdaloid  forming  the  upper  porti(>!!  of  a  l)ed  of 
diabase;  the  richest  part  of  the  lode  cliannel,  toward  the 
hanging,  represents  the  upper  crust  of  a  lava  flow  which  was 
vesicular  when  extruded  and  is  now  amygdaloidal  through 
the  deposition  of  minerals,  one  of  them  ijeing  coppe  .  The 
overlying  bed  is  a  dark,  compact,  fairly  coarse  diabase,  the 
dark-red  color  of  which  is  due  to  the  feldspar.  The  amyg- 
daloid of  the  coi)])er  lode  itself  has  a  mimitely  crystalline 
groun(]ma.ss  containing  acicular  ])lagioclase  and  gramiles  of 
magnetite,  wliich  has  been  oxidized  to  hematite."  The 
copper  is  sometimes  pseudomornliic  after  laumontite  and  is 
also  fomid  enclosed   within  transparent  scalenohedra  of 

■"Tlio  I',ira^:i'iicsis  atid  I  WivMtion  of  f'oppor  .'ind  its  Associates 
oil  l.ako  .■<ui>cTior,'  liy  1{mpIimc1  I'limpollv.  Aimrlraii  Journal  of 
Snoicr.  \ol.  II,  No.  !t,  p.  7();{  "  ' 

"  H.  Puiiiix'Ily  .111(1  C.  I'.omiiiircr. 


OF  LAKE  SVI'tlRlOR.  ^ 

ealcito,  the  onlcT  of  fonnation  l,oin«  laun.ontito,  ,,uart, 
copper,  calcite  and  datolite.  '|H'irt^, 

The  conglomerates   frefjuently  enclose  seams   of  fi„e- 
.ranu...  anunate.I  sandstone,  and  in  such  beds  an     ,,r  g. 

at  on  of  copper  ,s  not  unconnnon.    As  a  rule,  the  pe Lbles 
of   the  conglon,erate   i.e.is   consist  n.ainly  of  chocolatl 
CO  ored   els.t.c  porphyrite,  the  fragments  of'  dial^as    I.  ^ 
a.nyg,la loK    being  s-bordinate  in  an,o„„t.     Fi„er  silicio 
grams  of  the  san,e  n.aterial  fill  the  interstices  and    e 

l>e  pebbles  together;  but  this  original  binding  n.atoril 

and  cpulote,   together  with   chlorite  an<l  native  copper 

Calun.et  .^.  Hecla  is  fron.  12  to  2.5  ft.  thick,  and  dips  noi 
^ost  at  fron.  30°  to  .39°.     For  a  length  of  tuo  n.iles  in    his 
">"""g  property  there  are  but  few  barren  spots-  an     t  e 
conglomerate  is  stoped  continuously,  save  for  piZs  to 

cent.  J  he  rock  ks  reddish  brown  and  .so  compact  that  it 
breaks  across  the  pebbles,  which  are  the  detriti.s  of  cpartz 
porphyry  and  granite;  the  spaces  l^etween  pebble  \ 
fi  led  w,  h  sn.aller  gra.u.les  boun.l  together  bv  a  e  nem 
-h.ch  IS  both  silieious  and  calcareous.  \he  metallic  cpp 
occpies  he  spaces  between  pebbles  and  often  en  frely 
eplaces    he  cement;  it  also  penetrates  tlie  capillary  S 

ures  in  the  pebbles  and,  indeed,  the  replacenient  has?one  so 

ar  that  even  pebbles  are  turned  into  copper,  the  result 

being  "a  spongy  skeleton  of  copper  in  a'' epi,Lt!c  ro  k 

carrying  calcite.'-    The  hanging  wall  of  this  Ca,    net  t 

Hecla  lode  is  a  dark-colored,  fine-grained  diabase 

he  position  and  appearance  of  the  succession  of  diabase 
beds  indicate  that  they  are  extrusive  sheets  of  lava  tte 
upper  amyg.laloidal  layers  have  a  surface  which  is  ^fn 
coriaceous  and  contains  sand,  indicating  that  thei:  e.xtrl- 

p.  l£  ''°""""^'--     '^•'°'°^'^^>  S"^vey  o^  Michigan/  Vol  V,  Pt.  I, 


'Js 


THE  L(H'I>EH  MIXES 


sion  \v:is  followe.l  sliortly  afterward  by  scdiniciitatioii. 
I.ikely  eiK)iijrli  tliev  were  i-xtriidcd  uiidor  watfr.  It  is  this 
sintery  appearance  wliieii  lias  pnnoked  siieli  local  tenuis  as 
"ash  bed."  ■     ' 

>f()\eriieiit  of  the  Keweenaw  geries  is  manifested  hv 
several  small  disjilacements  in  the  mines  which  I  visited"; 
hut  the  most  in t crest iiij;  evidcn<-e  of  this  kind  is  the  occur- 
rence in  the  Central  mine,  where  the  so-called  East  vein  is 
faulted  al.itijr  the  Kearsarjie  conglomerate,  the  heave  heing 


v-^- 


:  *=;'>-.•«' 


I 


I — I 

A\  AMVCDALOII)   LODE,  QLLVCY   MINE. 

284  ft.;  a  dislocation  which,  a.s  measured  in  terms  of  the 
displacement  of  the  rocks  lying  above  the  Kearsarge  con- 
glomerate, has  been  estimated  as  eciuivalent  to  a  movement, 
horizontally  northward,  of  more  than  2*  miles." 

The  distribution  of  the  copper,  as  observed  in  the  mine 
workings,  is  seen  to  be  dependent  upon  the  struciure  of  the 
rock.  In  the  Quincy  the  "main  hanging  wall"  is  m.irked  by 
a  slip  or  parting,  of  variable  definition;  back  of  this  there  is 
a  band  of  shaly  trap,  which  is  apt  to  become  troul)lesome  by 
creating  shaky  ground.  The  lode  itself  is  a  brown  amygda- 
loid  with  earthy  fracture,  spotted  with  amygdules  consisdng 

pp" 88-91  ""''"'■'"'*'■    '^®°'°^''^'''  Surveyor  Miol.ipan,'  Vol.  VI,  Pt.  II, 


ipS^w4"iiifei^:>i#w  ^i 


^)^ 


OF  LAKE  Sil'ElilOH. 


29 

of  Krec,  chlorite,  white  caldte  a„,l  red  lau.nontite.    Ccmper 
occurs   on   .,„art.   and   pse»d..>norphie   after  laun.on  ite. 
Chlorite  1.S  found  d.stnbute.l  over  Loth  quartz  and  copper 
ponetratn.«  the  fonner.    The  calcite.  .h/ch  contains  bri^t 
at.ye  copper  often  tends  to  arran^e.nent  in  lines.  «ivL 
c   odo  occasionally  a  streaky  appearance.     The  rock  is 
often  vesicular,  especially  close  to  the  'hanKinjr,'  owin.  to 
vojd  cavities     Capt    Thos.  Whittle  informe.l  nie  that'    ^ 
lode  ,s  usually  dry.  but  that   n.oist  places   are  richest  " 
This  simply  means  that  in  such  portions  of  the  lode  tlie 
rock  IS     ess  tight,  possibly  more   vesicular,  and   perni  s 
of  the  descent   of  water   through    the  inte.-stices      T  e 
accoinpanyinjc   sketch    (page  28)   illustrates    the  generd 
structure  of  the  (^lincy  bed.  g"ieraJ 

At  the  Atlantic,  the  copper  is  fairly  disseminated  from 

tSt :  T\'Y  '■:';"-'^'"""^  '^^  amygdaloid  whi: 

constit  tes  the  lode.  Occasionally  the  richer  rock  favors 
one  or  the  other  wall,  an.l  rarely  the  copper  spreads  bevond 
the  hanging  wall  into  the  overlying  rap  Cross-Ss 
proc^ice 'floors'  which  make  trouble  in\iini':g.  '/tT  Cnd 
adMsphle  occasionally  to  leave  a  width  of  copper  rock 

ra^lf:;;'"^'^  '\''''T'  '''^■"    WhentrLle  i 
narrow  it  still  carries  about  the  same  amount  of  copper  per 

ear  foot,  so  that  it  is  richer  per  ton  than  where  it  Ls  wiSe- 

^Tr^^^'^'T'''':^'''''''^^^'-  Onthefoot-wSi 
hntTh  K  u  TV  ^  ^•°«^-«'-'^i"«l  Ja-^perv  amygdaloid 
lam,  tite  T,  "  '"'?  T  "  ^^"-'^^--lo-d  rock'nch  in 
laumont^ite.  The  amygdules  are  little  museums.  In  a  single 
aniygdule  one  can  li.etinguish  the  successive  deposits  of 
laumontite,  copper,  chlorite,  calcite  and  epidoTe  The 
cavities  now  filled  with  these  minerals  appear  to  be  long 
vesicles  due  to  the  expansion  of  water  vapor  or  ga«     W 

notable  quantity.  \nd  X  "an  3but 'iVo'r  ^^"""^  '^^r^^shed  m 
tion  may  not  be  Roing  on  whe^  Z  r„^l  ■  •"».  ^p-^- f'ow  precipita- 
leveU  of  this  mine?  '^"'^^  '^  '"°'^*  on'v  '"  the  lower 


mm 


30 


'/■///•;  t()i'i'i:u  mim:s 


D  sliiift  on  tltc  Mst  k-vi'l,  I  saw  a  cTu,>-c()iir.s(.,  a  l)an(l  of 
fracture  cxtciuliiij;  across  tlicloile  ami  rciuleriiijf  it  harrcii 
for  a  Icnjith  of  40  to  .">()  ft.  This  transverse  vein  carries 
more  cjiicite  tliuii  the  lode  itself. 

The  (listrii)ution  of  copper  in  the  Baltic  mine  i.s  partic- 
ularly irrejrular.     The  lode  channel  ai)pear.s  to  he  a  slieareil 
zone  witli  a  system  of  fracturing  which  has  reached  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  particular  atnyndaloidal  layer,  and  into  the 
encasin;;  trap.    .Movement  is  indicated  by  slip-i)lanes  and 
cross-joints,  especially  a  system  dipping  flatly  southward. 
Occasionally  slips  dip])inf;  toward  each  other  tend  to  form 
wedges  of  rock  which  make  (bnperous  ground.     Selvages 
are  observable.    At  \o.  4  a  vein  4  to  ')  in.  wide  exhibits 
this  evidence  of  movement  and  crosses  the  lode  chaimel  for 
a  distance  of  2()0  ft.;  it  carries  copper,  with  quartz  and 
calcite.    Most  of  tli<>  cro.s.s-veins,  which  are  frequent,  do 
not  extend  beyond  the  lode  limits,  and  they  are  short-lived 
in  any  direction.     Their  strike  usually  conforms  to  that  of 
the  main  lode  chaniiei,  but  in  one  of  the  upper  stopcs  I  saw 
a  seam  of  chalcocite,  in  the  foot-wall,  dipping  away  from  the 
lode.     This   seam  was  J  ro  1  in.  *'  'ck,  enclosed  within 
quartz.     Specimens  showing  dep.        ,n  of   chalcocite   on 
native  copper  also  occur  in  this  lode.     In  going  through 
idle  workings  which   have   been   extended  in     rich    ore, 
one  can  sec    the  metallic    copper  sticking  out,  though  it 
;s  tarnished  black  by  the  nitrous  fume  generated  by  the 
explosives  used  in  the  mine.     The  superinteixlent  will  pass 
his  hand  over  the  face  of  a  working  for  the  purpose  of  esti- 
mating the  percentage  of  copper,  the  projecting  rough  eilge 
of  metal  furnishing  an  index   sufficient   for  an  ajtproxi- 
niation  of  the  average  content. 

In  the  Wolverine,  wet  i^rotuid  is  a  good  sign.  ('apt. 
William  Pollard  f.tated  that  "where  there  is  water  there  is 
copper  somewhere  around."  This  confirms  the  experi(>nce 
of  the  Quinc  •,  the  best-producing  ground  being  where  the 
rock   i'-    .cMcidar.   damp  and  inclined   to  be  soft.     The 


.1 


Of  L\Kh:  SVl'EHlOIi.  3, 

-«.Ilecl  Vall^  of  ,l.e  Uolv.-rine  arc  at  l^t  hut  ill-defined 

•soft   lode    tro.n  tho  harder  greeni.sh-grav  tn  p  ov.St 
top,x.r  .  fou..d  extending  int..  ...th  ualls.    I'not    1  .heet 

occur  n.  the  hanging  also.  The  rock  nearest  the  hanging  i. 
H-t  an,vgdalo.dal  and  i.s  usually  riclH^t.  In  n.anv  ,,1  ux^ 
t'.e  presence  of  hnnp  eoppor  ea,.  he  «eon  at  a  distan  e  hv 
reason  o  patches  of  iigiu-colored  decon.posed  rock  Lt' 
of  inetalhc  copper  occur  in  this  soft  .natrix.  The  launHH.Ute 
"K.  iu.  amyg,lu!es  and  encloses  .-alcite.  while  the  ~ 
toiuid  rephuing  hoth  of  ;hen..  <-opperis 

Joints  and  long  slip-pIa„os  cross  the  lode  at  a  stronir 
angle;  these  are  apt  to  n.ark  a  change  in  the  cop^^r  contm 
If  the  rock  ,s  poor  it  heeon.es  richer  on  the  otL  side  or 
v^ce  versa:  this,  however,  is  only  a  local  effect.  S  v;ra 
cross-courses  arc  encountered.  They  consLst  of  hands- 
red :;;;:'"  "  r  'r'  ''■'''-' '--"  sf-attere^rtk 
streaked  wi  h  .sean.s  of  winte  calcite.  They  appear  to  disturh 

disadvantageou..ly.  Copper  is  rare  in  these  cro.ss-vein  a  d 
then  only  close  to  the  crossing.  At  the  25ch  level  the  e  wa  a 
boulder  ,n  the  hanging,  which  looked  as  if  the  trap  had 

Xeorii^ii;::^^"^""""^'"^'^^^'  -'^-'-'- 

of  'tVe  Inttf  1  \"  ?  T""™' ''''' '''"'  ''''  >»ineralization 
ot  the  an.jgdaloidal  lodes  is  diffused  an.l  irregi.lar-  the 

upper  or  hang,ng-wall  hmit  to  the  profitahle  rock Ts  .'.cca 
c.nally  fa.ly  clear,  but  the  foot  is  not.    In  the  ear  ^  lays 

at  ve         '"""'  "''"™  ''  ^^P^-  ^-^"i^"  -'  "ther  authori 
tative  mme  managers  to  "keep  to  the  hanging";  and  the 
custom  was  to  run  little  drifts,  which  followecl  tl'coul  , 

This  if  f  "'  "  u '"  '"^'  '""^  '"'•«  ""^ht  turn  and  twist 
Th  s  IS  no  longer  the  practice,  for  it  is  recogni^ed  that  the 
chstnbufon   of  the  n.etal  disregards  supposititious  wj's 


m 


32 


THE  ( oi'i'Hii  .i//.v/;n 


and,  ill  onlcr  to  cMim-'  it  propfrly,  a  K>s  iiarnnv  .•.flicn.i'  of 
HXplorHtidii  is  rciiuiri'd. 

Tlic  (•(.iiy;lnmciat»'  Id.lcs  arc  liHtcr  c|<>fiiic(|,  as  will  Im'  illus- 
trated l«y  till"  Franklin  .lunior  ininc,  wliii-li  I  visited  iiiider 
the  ((iiirteniis  piidaiice  of  Capt.  Joliii  Donev.  and  Mr.  V.  W. 
Sperr.  pnii'essdr  of  iiiiiiinn  at  tlie  ("ollejie  ..f  Mines.  This 
iiiiiie  is  on  tiie  Hostoii  and  Albany  con^loinerate.  which  is  the 
same  as  the  .Mloiiez  eonjrloinorato.  At  the  .'{7.")-ft.  level  I 
saw  the  section  n  piodiiced  on  this  pajje.     I'nder  the  outer 


\  conai.iminAJt 


fsl. 


A  (•(i\C.I,(iMi;RAT;;  uiui-..  kkanki.i.v.  jr.,  mink. 

body  of  hard  trap  constitutiiifr  the  lianjiin^t-wall  country, 
th.-re  are  4  to  .")  ft.  of  shattered  trap;  and  between  this  and' 
the  con<;loiiierate  there  is  about  one  foot  of  flucaii.  Tliis 
soft  sfff  varies  in  different  parts  of  the  mine  from  a  mere 
selvajti  ;■)  a  thickness  of  four  feet.  The  cojjper-iioa.infi 
c(m<ilom.iat<-  itself  is  from  S  to  25  ft.  thick,  narrowing; 
northward  and  widening  southward  Underneath  it  there 
are  :?  to  4  ft.  of  sandstone,  and  below  this  comes  the  amvjr- 
daloidal  trap  of  the  main  foot-wall  country.  The  con- 
glomerate breaks  clean  from  the  foot-wall  sandstone;  the 
latter  shatters  in  .slips,  which  make  ba<l  ground.  In  order 
to  avoid  the  flucan  in  the  haiiKinj;  and  decrea.se  timberinK 


«'\|)CI1.S(.,  it  is  tl 

t 


>   Sll 


Ol'  LAKH  SUJ'KHIOn. 

!'«•  ciistoiii  t..lcav.-4<»r.-||t. 


Xi 


i|'|Hnt  tlw  ^n.iiiKl,  tl 


of  ciiiijfliiiiicrafi 


way  \mi\g  I^s  than  (he 


'<■  \".'icof  ih,.  .•„i,,K.,l„.st  in  th 


•'xtra  tiinbcrinjr.     .,\^  (j, 


«'X|M'n.!ituic  other 


wise  ifcjuircd  hir 


iiiKl  ahandi.n,.,!,  this  shdl 
l)rcccitt-si.|vag(>,  a  el 


c  Miec(s.siv<.  I.-vels  nrv  c-xhanMe.! 


Is   rci!ii)\'(>i 


!i.v  CMntaihiiin  I'lokcn 


The  H 
pie( 


iican  i.- 
of 


wall^  '    '••'"'""  "''"'i«'fiiic(l  as  the 

••rate  is  not  t.u.  n.arse  it  is  .,„.  t  r  .  •■""Kl"in- 

aho  there  k  a    „l       '         "'"'".'■l"""  »"'y„.lal„i,l.    Here 

t*ee,„:r.t:z:™;c::':  :::;::;;ir'f-^.- '•'' 
-C^t e™  ;:::*:;. ™";r';r''- '"'"™'"' -^  -' 


M 


VOl'l'Eli  MIXES. 


sistiii<;  for  a  ciniplc  (if  liumlrod  feet,  witli  a  inaxiiimiii 
thickness  of  seven  or  eight  ineiies.  Fine  partich's  of  copper 
are  founil  in  this  sandstone,  wiiieli  differs  in  eliaracter  from 
tliat  on  tile  foot-wall.  There  are  also  nodules  of  copper 
scattere<l  tliroiifrli  the  fiiican.  ami  in  the  overlying  trap  a 
little  flaky  copper  is  found.  At  the  ISth  level— about 
l.S.")!)  ft.  from  surface  as  lueastn-ed  on  the  4S°  dip— the  con- 
glomerate lode  lies  on  tlie  amygdaloid;  the  latt  r  has  a 
huin;-)y,  hillnwy  s  u-facc.  and  the  i)arting  between  it  and  the 
conglom  ^rat?  is  tight,  that  is,  the  two  beds  adhere. 


'il,  -Eaklv  History. 


In  W'  the  copi"!-  iiiiiics  of  J.akc  r^iiperior  yielded 
192,29.-  ■>"'  '!>  .'■'  reiiiiod  copper."  this  l)eiiig  about  1.5  per 
cent  of  the  worlds  production;  therefore  no  excuse  is 
needed  for  a  sketch  of  tlu;  historic  dovelopnient  of  the 
region.  This  account  will  be  more  readily  understood  in 
the  light  of  the  geologic  description  which  has  already  been 
given.  The  geologic  feature's  of  a  mining  country  bear  a 
relation  to  its  development  similar  to  that  of  geographic 
conditions  in  the  history  of  the  nations. 

The  first  account  of  the  occurrence  of  native  cojiper  near 
Lake  Superior  is  found  in  a  work  by  Lagarde.  published  at 
Paris  in  1636.  Reports  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  and  early 
voyai/curs  make  mention  of  it,  and  in  1666  Claude  Alloutz 
gave  details.  These  French  Jesuits  were  the  first  white 
men  in  the  region,  and,  according  to  their  accounts,  the 
Indians  had  been  mining  copijer  before  the  Europeans 
eainc.  A  century  later,  in  1763,  a  practical  Englishman, 
Alexander  Henry,  who  had  come  to  North  America  soon 
after  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  British,  passed  through 
the  region;  and  in  1771  he  l)egan  nuning  operations,  but 
with  so  little  success  that  he  desisted  in  1774.  In  his 
'Travels,'  published  in  1809,  he  mentions  a  mass  of  copper 
which  ho  found  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ontonagon  river. 
This  is  the  mass  now  to  be  seen  at  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution." 

Another  period  of  silence  supervened;  for  seventy  years 
there  was  no  progress.  The  pioneer  of  the  great  mining 
activit}'  in  the  Lake  Superior  region  was  Douglass  Hough- 
ton, the  first  State  geologist  of  Michigan,  who  was  appointed 
in    1837.    At   that    time    the   salt  springs  of  Wyandotte 


'■' The  prodiirtinn  for  H)OI  wa.s  20C,S00,000  pounds 
"See  pa<:e  0!)  and  fronti.spieoe. 


M) 


rill-:  cni'i'KH  mixes 


county  (in  \\\v  \ii-iiiity  of  Dt-tmit)  coiistitiiteil  the  principal 
nrnicral  industry  nf  thv  State.  In  tlic  summer  nf  lN:i9, 
Ilougliton  niiidc  extensive  explorations;  and  in  iiis  fourth 
aniuial  report,  submitted  in  Fel)ruary,  1841.  he  gave  a 
scientific  tlescription  of  tlie  cop|)er  deposits.  It  is  evi(h'nt, 
however,  tiuit  at  hrst  lie  repanled  the  metalhc  condition  of 
the  eopfjcr  as  an  inihcatioii  unfavorable  to  permanence, 
and  he  held  this  view  until  he  found  "that  feature  was 
more  or  less  universal  with  respect  h)  all  the  veins."  He 
hroujiht  i)ack  four  or  (i\e  tons  of  (•oi)]ier  to  Detroit,  for 
analysis. 

.\o  mining  operations  were  beijiini  at  tiiis  time,  but 
lloujihton's  reports  had  drawn  attention  to  the  region; 
and,  upon  the  cession  of  the  land  to  the  I'nited  ."states  bj- 
the  Ciiippewas,  on  March  12,  l,St:;,  tliere  followed  a  si>ecu- 
lative  craze  which  lasted  for  three  years.  The  lodes  dc- 
.scribed  by  Houghton,  and  timse  actually  opened  up  in 
1S44  by  Ciiarles  T.  .lackson,  wlio  was  the  first  to  test  their 
value  by  mining,  were  the  veins  of  the  liagle  Kiver  dis- 
trict, near  Keweenaw  I'oiii.  These  carried  both  native 
silver  anil  nati\('  co|)per.  not  in  tlie  layers  of  conglomerate 
aTid  amygdaliiid,  which  became  the  great  producing  lodes 
of  later  year>.  i)\it  in  transverse  veins  cutting  across  the 
l)edded  series  of  rocks,  ( )f  these  the  C'lifT  was  the  principal: 
it  was  discovered  in  1S4."),  and  was  examined  by  Jackson 
and  also  by  Whitney,  botii  of  whom  advis(>d  e\|)loration 
at  the  foot  of  the  c]ilT,on  the  crest  of  which  evidence  of  a 
copper  tleposit  had  been  f<iund,  \\\  adit  was  started  at  the 
base  of  this  bhiff;  and  at  70  ft,  it  cut  a  body  of  metallic 
copper,  the  first  'mass' — as  such  occurrences  are  termed- — 
found  by  systematic  mining  in  the  Lake  Superior  region. 
The  discovery  wa  important,  l)ecaiise  it  indicated  that  the 
erratic  boulders  of  metal.  pre\iously  found  in  the  district, 
had  their  origin  in  the  lodes  and  not  in  foreign  sources. 

The  Cliff  mine  ex])loited  a  fissure,  which,  in  cutting 
'across  "ountry.'  intersected  s(>v(>ral  anivgdaloid  beds,  some 


m 


OF  LAKE  Sll'ERlOR. 


37 


(if  >\liich  proNcil  til  lie  prodiiL'tivc  t'(ir  a  distance  <iii  citlicr 
■side  nf  tlic  main  vein,  tlicsc  were  kiujwii  as  'Hoors'  aiul  IS 
of  tlic.  -re  iniiKMl  |)r(ifital)ly.  Tlic  iniiu>,  almost  from 
tlic  start  was  ivmarkably  rich  in  'mass.'  Mctwrcn  l.S4fi 
ami  ]S.-):j.  the  sales  of  cojjper  netted  .'?1.."}2,S.4(M),  the  divi- 


MA!'    KXHIHITING  THK   POSITIOX   OF  THE   PRINCIPAL  MIN'KS. 

(lends  (luriiifi  tliat  period  afifircfiatiiij:;  IS4r>2.(KM).  The  depth 
attained  was  4()2  ft.,  and  the  range  of  development  ah-i.t 
1.2(K1  ft.  In  1S7(1  work  was  discontinued,  owing;  to  im- 
])overishment  at  the  hoilom  levels;  \\\\  to  this  time  the 
mine  had  paid  its  stockholders  !S2,(>L'7, ()(•()  or  a  little  o\cr 


;5s 


THE  LUl'l'llH  ML\h'S 


2,000  per  cent  on  the  paid-iij)  capital.  In  1s7l>  tlic  mine 
wa.s  reopened  under  a  new  organization,  and  the  output 
rose  again,  to  l,lG2.s7:i  Ih.  copper  i,,  isir,;  after  tliat  tiiere 
\va.sji  dwindling  away,  until  production  ceased  entirely  in 
18S7.     This  mine  is  now  idle. 

In  l,s.")4  the  Central  \ein  was  discovered  by  John  .Slaw- 
son,  the  agent  of  the  Cliff,  who  stumbled  upon  an  ancient 
excavation  in  which  a  large  mass  of  native  copper  was  un- 
covered.    This  was  sent    to  Detroit  to  be   smelted.     In 
iSt).")  the  production  exceeded  a  million  pounds  of  copper; 
and  the  mines  produced  steadily  until,  in  lS7(i   the  output 
reached  J.Kil. 400  lb.,  and  in  1SS6,  2,512..SSG.     But  in  1895, 
at  the  ;jlst  level,  the  vein  was  found  to  ])e  .at  off  by  a  bed' 
of  conglumerate;  its  faulted  prolongation  downwanl  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  recognized,  but  it  was  barren  of  copper. 
In    the   meanwhile,    at    the   south   end    of   tliis   copi)er 
country,  the  mines  of  Ontonagon   were  doing  well.     The 
principal  mines  were  the  Minesota,''  Xational,  and  .Mass. 
The  .Minesota  was  discovere.l  in  1S47  bv  S.  ( ).  Knapj)'  wl   . 
noted  the  surface  indentations  due  to  ancient  workings     In 
'>ne  of  these,  at  a  depth  of  IS  ft.,  he  uncovered  a  nmss  (,f 
native  c,,pper  weighing  six  tons;    this  evidently  ha.l  been 
"loved  at  some  bygone  period,  for  it  lay  five  feet  from  the 
h'de  and  had  been  supi.orted  on  tind)ers.  rotted  remnants 
"t  which  were  fouii.i.     The  first  .shipment  from  this  mine 
was  made  m  ],S4S.  the  year  in  which  the  first  companv  was 
"riramzed.     Dividends,  aggregating  .«;i, 920.000,  were  paid 
up  to  the  en.I  of  I.S.Sl.     X.-arly  70  per  cent  of  th<.  product 
tip  to  isoi  was  in  the  form  of  -mass,'  and  onlv  f.  per  c(>nt 
was  'stamp-rock.'     The  mill  was  a  cru.le  affair:  and,  w!ien 
the  masses  became  .scarce,  the  companv  had  to  shut  down 
in  1S70. 

The  Xational  company  opened  up  the  location  adjoining 
the  Minesota:  an.l  the  twc  companies  gave  the  Ontonagon 


iW^  \^  ^:.k.-    J'-A-^'iS 


01'  LAKE  sri'ERIOIi. 


'J. 
5 


40 


THE  COPPER  MINES 


district  a  vvi.le  celebrity  for  twenty  yeare,  both  by  reason 
of  their  production  and  througii  the  fierce  litigation  in  which 
they  liecanie  involved.  The  National  began  work  in  1848, 
and  for  23  years  it  maintained  a  steady  output.  Lp  to' 
1871  thi.s  mine  produced  5,000  tons  „f  copper,  worth 
.«2.2'Jo,2.31.  Operations  were  on  a  small  scale,  and  the 
owners  showed  lack  of  enterprise.  In  1871  the  workings 
were  turned  over  to  tributers,  who  gophered  for  a  while, 
before  work  ceased  entirely.  In  1881  the  mine  was  un- 
vvatered  and  fresh  explorations  were  started,  under  the  able 
direction  of  Capt.  E.  W.  Parnall,  who  afterwards  became 
so  well  known  at  the  Tamarack.  The  nature  of  the  pro- 
duction in  the  early  days  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in 
1864,  .385  masses  yielded  433,458  lb.  copper;  and  in  1865 
318  masses  yielded  516,244  pounds. 

Prospectors  early  found  their  way  «r.uthward  from  the 
Lagle  River  mines  to  Portage  lake.    The  riches  of  the  dis- 
trict, now  known  as  Calumet,  were  unsuspected  at  that 
period,  and  it  was  nearly  twenty  years  before  they  were 
discovered.    The  country  around  Portage  lake  was  easily 
accessible,  and  a  settlement  was  formed  in  1847  "    In  that 
year  also  the  fi^st  of  the  bedded  formations  was  uncovered, 
and  this  discovery  formed  the  basis  for  the  organization  in 
October,  1848,  of  the  Quincy  Mining  Company;   but  the 
early  exploration  of  this  part  of  the  district  was  not  promis- 
ing, because  it  was  directed  largely  to  the  fissures.    For  a 
year  the  Quincy  company  fassed  over  one  of  these  worth- 
less cross-veins,  before  the  discovery  of  a  rich  bedded  lode 
formahon  was  made  by  the  Pewabic.  a  company  organized 
byC.  H.  Palmer  in  1848.  The  Portage  district  underwent  no 
serious  exploration  for  several  years,  greater  activity  being 
displayed  m  the  Eagle  River  and  Ontonagon  districts.     In 
18o2,  however,  the  Isle  Royale  lode  was  found  just  behind 
Hough^m^and  large  quantiti.-  of  native  copper  were  ex- 

VoL  Vn!*p^.  }JlJ,-/^'^"-'''^»   Lake  Superior  Mining  Institute, 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


41 


tracted  with  a  success  that  made  this  mine  famous— and 
with  it,  the  locality.    Adjoining  tracts  of  land  were  quickly 
taken  up;  and  in  1853  the  Huron  Mining  Company  wus  or- 
ganized at  Boston,  although  the  extension  of  the  Is^e  Royale 
Icue  was  nt    actually  found  until  the  year  after.    At  this 
period  Cornish  miners  began  to  arrive,  attracted  by  reports 
which  had  reached  England,  and  their  names  begin  to  ap- 
gear  in  the  later  records.    In  1854  and  1855  mining  matters 
pround  Portage  lake  looked  gloomy;   some  of  the  mines, 
like  the  Quincy,  had  not  yet  found  the  lodes  which  subse- 
quently made  them  so  productive,  and  they  were  struggling 
along,  exploiting  the  poorer  layers  of  amygdaloid  (which 
are  parallel  to  the  rich  lodes)  and  the  thin  cross-veins,  as 
already  mentioned.     In  1856  the  Pewabic  company  found 
the  great  amygdaloid  lode  known  by  that  name;  and  the 
neighboring  mine,  the  Quincy,  promptly  foUowed  suit,  at  a 
time  when  hope  and  money  were  both  at  a  low  ebb.     During 
1856  the  Quincy  produced  13,462  lb.  copper;  but  not  until 
1860  did  the  mine  become  profitable.     In  1873  the  yield 
was  2,800,005  lb.;   in  1883,  5,549,087  lb.;  in  1903,  it  was 
18,498,288  lb.  refined  copper.    The  Quincy  has  paid  divi- 
dends aggregating  $14,620,000,  upon  a  capital  of  $2,500,000. 
The  first  copper  mines  ir'the  Lake  Superior  region   as 
we  have  seen,  were  on  the  veins  of  the  Eagle  River  district, 
which  cut  across  the  bedding  of  the  trap,  amygdaloid,  and 
conglomerate  constituting  the  prevaihng  formation.  These 
discoveries  were  closely  followed  by  development  of  the 
lodes  of  'mass'  copper  in  the  Ontonagon  district,  at  the  south 
end  of  the  region,  where  the  veins  cut  the  bedded  series  at 
an  acute  angle  on  the  dip.    Subsequently  came  the  opening 
up  of  rich  copper  deposits  in  the  amygdaloid  layers,  such  as 
the  great  Quincy  mine.    Finally,  the  uncovering  of  a  copper- 
bearing  conglomerate  marked  the  birth  of  another  momen- 
tous development.    Such  was  the  discovery  of  the  Calumet 
lode  by  E.  J.  Hulbert,  John  Hulbert  and  Amos  H.  Scott,  in 
September,  1864. 


I\'.— Cammi-t  iV:  Hkci.a. 


Tlic  recital  of  tlic  events  CDiiiiected  with  tlie  iiiiec.veriiif; 
of  the  Calumet  iV  Heela  lode  ioniis  a  story  by  itself.     It 
does  credit  to  tiie  persistence  of  the  discoverer.  Edwin  J. 
Hull)ert,  and  to  the  shrewdness  of  his  financial  supporter, 
(iuincy  A.  .Shaw;  but  it  i.s  marred  by  one  of  tliose  not 
nifre<|uent  misunderstandings  between  men  of  unlike  tem- 
perament, resulting  in  the  familiar  dispute  as  to  whether 
tile  man  who  finds,  or  tlie  man  w.,o  founds,  a  great  mine 
should  be  the  cliief  beneficiary.     Hulliert  was  a  surveyor; 
lie  had  laid  out  roads,  and  mappe<l  lai  (Hand  mine  workings.' 
lor  ten  years  before  the  discovery,     ile  has  related'^  how.  in' 
lS.-,;{.  he  lived  in  the  Eagle  River  district  and  became  a  keen 
stiidetit  of  mining  geology  under  .such  veterans  as  W.  H. 
Ste^•ons.  .-lanmel  W.  Hill  and  C'has.  Whittlesev.     At  that 
period,  mini-g  for  eojjper  in  the  bedded  series"was  not  re- 
cognized as  promising  profit,  and  all  the  work  was  concen- 
trated upon  the  transverse  veins  of  the  district.     In  1S.")S 
lie  began  tlie  survey  of  a  State  road  from  Coi)per  Harbor  to 
<  >ntonagon.  and  in  the  course  of  hi.s  work  he  noted  a  violent 
ileflection  of  the  magnet ic  needle  on  Section  2.3;  this  put 
liiiii  on  the  alert  fora  mineral  discovery  later.  While  making 
the  northern  portion  .,f  tliis  survey,  he  found  fragments  of  a 
brecciated    conglomerate    containing    copper,    similar    to 
•float'  encomitered  byliim  several  years  rarlieron  the  banks 
ot  Eagle  river.    The  conglomerate  differed  from  any  other 
in  the  district  by  being  brecciate.l.  and  it  was  this  fact  that 
started  him  on  a  long  and  persistent  .search. 
^  In  making  a  final  survey  f.,r  the  road  from  the  ClifT  to 
I'ortage  lake,  he  picked  iip  .some fragments  of  this  conglom- 
erate. an<I  sliortly  afterwards  he  discovered  a  big  block  of  it, 

'■  '('Mlutnot   (-oniiloniprat.    .in  Explf)Mtion  .ind   Di.x.overv  ni.-)de 


VOI'l'ER  MISKS. 


43 


covered  with  moss;  also,  not  far  away,  he  observed  a  (h'pres- 
sioii  which  he  took  to  be  an  ancient  pit,  sin.ihir  to  others 
previously  known  elsewhere  in  the  Keweenaw  peninsula. 
Upon  examining  tlie  map,  lie    found   that   this   was  on 
governmerit  land;  therefore,  in  1-Vbruary,  18G0,  he  bought 
a  tract  of  1.9:?0  acres,  so  located  as  to  cover  the  ground  in 
which  he  F)"ri)osed  to  explore  for  the  copper-bearing  breccia- 
conglomerate.     In  July,  IStil,  he  deeded  a  three-(iuarter 
mterest  in  this  land  to  J.  W.  Clark,  Horatio  Bigelow  and 
other  Boston  men.    The  civil  war  came,  mining  activity 
languished  and  nothing  was  done  until  1804,  wiien  this 
tract  became  the  basis  for  organizing  tiie  Ilulbert  .Mining 
Company,  in  which  he  was  allotted  5,()(H)— out  of  2(),(K)()— 
shares.    Meanwhile,  in  June,  1859,  Ilulbert,  Amos  H.'  Scott 
(wiio  worked  for  him),  and  the  old  cxi)lorev,  W.  H.  .Stevens, 
found  the  Allonez  conglomerate.   This  led  to  the  formation 
of  the  Allouez  Miniii-'  Company,  with  Horatio  Higelow  as 
secretary.    But  the  work  done  during  tliat  winter  sufficed 
to  prove  the  poverty  of  the  lode.    All  subsequent  attempts 
to  work  this  congloiiu-rate  have  failed  likewise;  but  now.  4.5 
years  later,  the  Allouez  company  appears  destined  at  last 
to  becom(>  a  successful  mine  by  exploiting  the  Kearsai<;e 
amygdaloid,   which,   on   its   dip,   traverses  this   proper^- 
between  t!ir  Wolverine  and  the  .Mohawk  mines.     A  shaft  is 
being  sunk  lo  cut  the  lode  at  an  estimated  depth  of  1.100 
feet."   That  the  Kearsarge  amygdaloid  was  not  discovered 
then,  is  small  wonder,  for  Ilulbert  and  Scott  tried  to  fin.l 
the  exten.«ion  of  the  Quincy  amyg.laloid.  where  it  would 
cross  this  tract  east  of  the  Allouez  conglomerate;  thev  failed, 
because  of  the  thickness  of  the  soil  and  the  swampy  nature 
of  the  ground. 

After  the  Allouez  enterprise  failed,  and  the  civil  war 
disorganized  business,  Hulbert  himself  remained  away  from 

'-  Recently  a  drill-hole  from  the  simft  i,as  proved  the  lode  to  be 
t^J'r:^^r^J^^^  "-  ^''"^'  -i"  "ot  eut  it  until  a 


■■■*c„.- 


44 


THE  cni'l'KH  MIXES 


llic  district,  partly  (.win;;  tu  a  >fv('rc  illiio.s,  iiiitii.  in  iSdl', 
lit'  returned  to  do  survey  worii  at  the  niine>*  near  Hoiijrliton. 
In  May.  1,S()4.  he  liecanie  superintendent  of  the  Huron  iniiio. 
In  July,  of  that  year,  he  re-visited  the  site  of  the  (•(.tiploin- 
«'rate  Ix.iilder  in  the  forest,  and  found  everything  nndis- 
turhed.   IIavin]ii  determined  to  seareh  anew,  and  with  more 

.sy.stPin,  for  the  lonjr-sou^dit  eopper  lode,  ho  wrote  to  liigelow, 
of  the  Ilulhert  Mininjj  Company,  to  purcha.'^e  more  luiul. 
This  was  done,  the  i)riee  heinj;  !$:{-,  p^r  acre,  for  2(K)  aeres. 
Inuuediately  thereafter  he  eho.sc  «  point  of  attack  (the  site 
afterward  of  the  Calumet  No.  4  shaft), and  on  Sopteinher  17, 
1S()4.  his  hrother  Jolni  and  .\mos  H.  Seott,  workinjr  under 
liis  ilireetion,  mf  thmufzU  the  amyplaloid  forminjr  the 
liaiiKinjr  wall,  into  the  eopi)er-l)earinjr  eoiifrlomerate. 
Winter  eomiiio;.  work  shortly  cea.sed.  A  barrel  of  sim-inien 
roek  was  sent  to  Boston  on  November  15,  1S()4.  In  the 
advice  of  "is  shipment  it  was  .sugfrested  that  another 
compai  \  ,rnird  to  take  the  land  in  Section  i;{.  held  by 

the  Ilulhert  company;  and  this  was  done,  in  December, 
under  the  name  of  the  Calumet  Mining  Company  of  Michi- 
gan. This  company  was  organized  on  a  basis  of  2().(KK) 
shares:  in  the  samp  month  the  Ileda  Mining  Coini)any  was 
also  formed,  witli  :.n  ecpial  capitalization.  In  the  siting  of 
ISti.-)  he  went  to  Moston  and  there  met  Quincy  A.  Shaw, 
arranging  with  him  a  loan  of  .SK^SOO.  wherewith  to  buy 
additional  land:  this  was  .leeded  to  the  Calumet  comi)any: 
and  he  received  r),S.'«  shares,  making  his  holding  lO.s:}:! 
shares  in  the  2().(MK)  shares  for  «hich  the  companv  was 
organized. 

Meanwhile,  in  ISfw,  exploration  of  tlie  ancient  i)it  (noted 
long  before  by  Hulbert  as  occurring  near  the  discovery  of 
the  conglomerate)  had  proved  that  it  wa.s  not  a  prospect 
hole  nor  a  pit  .sunk  on  a  copper  lode,  but  an  Indian  hiding 
place  or  'cache'  in  whidi  was  found  a  nia.s.s  of  copper, 
unaccompanied  by  tools  of  any  sort,  such  as  would  suggest 
former  mining:  but  there  were  found  l)irch-})ark  baskets 


O/'  LAKE  SI  I'KHlOli. 


4') 


4fl 


'////•;  corriji  mises 


uscil   I'm-   carrying   cDpiH-r.   iilxi   piccts  nf   IiKlian-ianiittl 
deerskin,  such  a>  is  eiiiployeil  tor  repairing;  iiiuccasiiis,  and 
other  articles,  proving  it  to  be  no  mine  o|H'ninic.    Over  5U 
l>arrels  of  c()p[)er  carlxmate  were  taken  o\it  of  .    s  excava- 
tion, this  being  the  weathered  remnant  of  copper  which  liad 
been  secreted  there  iiy  tlie  former  diggers.     In  February, 
istiti,  the  pit  was  cleaned  out ;  and,  on  sinking  through  tlie 
floor  of  it,  the  amygilaluid  overlying  the  Calumet  lode  was 
penetrated,  and  conglomerate  exceedingly  rich  in  copper 
was  enco\intered.      The  'cache.'  therefore,  was  close  to  the 
lode,  but  not  on  it,  being  on  the  hanging  wall  side.    Jlull)ert 
at  once  sent  word  to  .>[r.  Shaw  to  .secmc  the  refusal  of 
Section  '2.\.  covering  the  ground  which  it  wa.s  obvious  the 
lode  traversed  in  its  strike  soiithwestward.  This  section  was 
part   of  file  territory  belonging  to  the  St.   .Mary's  t'anal 
Mineral  Land  Company.    The  I'nited  States  Government 
had  granted  the  State  of  Michigan  oOO.IKK)  acres  of  mineral 
land  in  the  Upper  Peninsula  for  liisposal  to  the  company 
which  should  build  the  canal    connecting  the  St.  Marv's 
river  with  the  basin  (if  Lake  Superior.    This  grant  became 
the  basis  for  the  organization,  in  ISoS.  of  the  St.  ^f;iry's 
Canal  Mineral  Land  Comiiany.  which  forthwith  began  the 
sale  of  lands,  and  remains  to  this  day  a  large  ])roprietor  of 
minii.g  territory,  being  also  u  half  owner  in  the  Champ  on 
line,  as  will  be  related  later  in  this  account.  Section  2'.\ 
was  bought   from   tlie  Canal   comi)any  for  .SdO.OCX):  and 
Ilulbert  was  allotted  one-third  of  the  20,(MK)  shares  of  the 
Ilecla  Company,  which  acquired  it,  the  remaining  two-thirds 
being  held  by  Mr.  Shaw  and  his  brother.    Thus  I  Fnlbert  was 
able  to  lay  claim  to  having  select  eil  every  acre  of  the  mining 
land  held  liy  the  Calumet  &  Hecla. 

The  Calumet  Minin?r  Company  was  organized  wi  h  a 
capital  of  20.000  shares,  haviPL^  ,  par  value  of  one  dollar. 
Toward  tiie  close  of  ISO."),  the  repfirts  of  the  richness  of  the 
lode  became  noised  abroad  :  and  the  stock  rose  by  successive 
jumps,  until  in  .July.  ISfiO.  it  was  f|uote<l  at  %~r>  per  .share. 


.J.  4. 


(H-  L.\KE  sri'KiaoU.  47 

An  a.'*>('j<r<iMi'iit  of  ^.'i  \va>  inailf  t<>  rai>c  wnrkiiii.'  capital;  aiul 
lliis  asscsMiK'iit  \va.'<  followed  iiy  otiicis,  niakinir  a  total,  tip 
tt»  that  tiiii««.  of  %\2.M  jmt  share.  The  uhsence  of  iiia.ss 
fopf)cr,  and  the  supposed  didieulty  of  treafinn  the  ore, 
caused  the  shares  to  fall  heavily,  and  niaiiy  of  the  local  stnck- 
hulders  sold  out  -to  their  lifelonjr  reirret :  indeed,  before  the 


.A  MAi.v  i.i:vi;i.  IN  Till-;  callmkt  &  iikcla  mtne 

profit-carnins  stage  was  reached,  there  was  much  financial 
einharra.s.snient,  by  which  Hulhert  suffered  seriously. 
What  with  assessiuents  and  loans,  about  .?1,200.(XX)  was 
required  before  the  mine  became  \  profitable  undertaking; 
all  the  original  owners  in  the  Calumet  k  Hecla  enterprise 
being  severely  put  to  it  to  provide  money  to  develop  the  mine 
until  it  earned  profits.     Hulbert  lost  a  large  j^art  of  his 


i 


4'^  THE  COI'I'ER  MIXES 

interest  by  liaviiiji  to  cxclian-ic  it  lor  debt  cortificato  of  tlic 
Huron  mine,  of  wliicli  lie  was  tl>e  inana>;er.  Tliis  enibit*ered 
liini,  naturally  enough;  there  was  a  <|uarrel  with  l^niney 
Shaw  and  tiie  lioston  directors;  Init  about  twenty  years  ajro 
a  settleniriit  was  made  with  Jlulbert,  he  reeeivinji  SolMl.tKM) 
in  Calumet  iV:  Hecla  stock,  wliieh  was  ])laeed  in  trust.  The 
ineonie  from  this  supports  him  comfortably;  Mr.  Ilulbert 
is  now  livinji  at  Home. 

The  Hecla  paid  its  first  dividend,  of  So,  in  Deceinl)er, 
LStii);  and  the  Calumet,  in  Aujjust,  1S70.  The  two  com- 
l)anies  were  consolidated  in  May,  1S71.  the  I'ortland  and 
Scott  companies  beins  included;  the  Calumet  i\;  Ileclawas 
then  orjianized  with  a  capital  of  SI  .(M)(),()()(l,  in  4(),()()()  siiares. 
At  that  date  the  dividends  of  the  miited  mines  had  already 
a!iiounted  to  $2.S(K),()()().  In  bS74.  2:5U.(M)()  tons  were 
treated,  at  a  cost  of  )?7.4()  i)er  ton,  yieldin>r  4.2S  ])er  cent 
cop))er:  in  1,S7.').  L>:J9.rK)0  tons  at  a  cost  of  $o.S2,  yieldinji 
4..'{U  jM'r  cent. 

In  1S7!)  the  capital  stock  was  increased  to  S2,.")(K),(KM).  or 
lOO.OOO  shares  of  S25  eacii,  this  beinp:  the  limit  allowed  by 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  .Michifian.  In  1881.  eleven  .shafts 
had  Ijeen  sunk  and  an  estateof  1.720  acres  liad  been  consol- 
idated. Tiie  divi. lends  that  year  amounted  to  S2,()0n,0()(). 
It  may  be  interest ini:  to  quote  the  list  of  the  mines  which 
were  jiayinf;-  dividends  at  i  hat  time.  2:5  years  aj;o:  they  were: 

I'ividciuls  \ip  to 

,  ,       .  Ill  l.'^M.  the  end  of  ISSl. 

■"I'mt"' Ss(l.(K)()  .<«2(i(MM)0 

Cahliiict  .t  llcchi L',(HH),()no  L'l  .').■)()  0(M) 

''•■""■i'l (iO.OOfl  l.tit)l!(MM) 

;  *'*'.■''"'•■' l'2r..«)0  :{,S.-,.()(M) 

Vl'iii'T 1 10.000  'J.SIO.OOO 

At  the  end  of  1SS2  t'le  Calumet  iV;  Hecla  had  taken  copper 
valued  at  S71,21'.».(>1().  out  of  jiround  equivalent  to  120 
acres.  In  ISS:?  the  averajre  width  of  stope  was  reported'"  as 
S  ft.,  with  a  maximum  of  20  ft.,  and  an  avorasc  yield  of  4.5 

'''rii;i>:.  KirchlidlT.  Till  l-:t,ij,,„,niifiiiii(l  Mhiinq  .hiuriuil  .lulv  1"' 
IsS),  '       ■     ■ 


I 


OF  LAKE  SiPERlOR. 


49 


per  cent  cojiper.  Tlie  mine  made  most  of  its  water  between 
the  14th  and  ISth  levels,  being  so  dry  at  the  bottom,  then  at 
;?,()(K)  feet,  on  the  lode,  that  water  had  to  be  taken  to  the 
drillers.  The  levels  were  0."}  ft.  apart  on  the  dip,  or  (M)  ft. 
vertical.  The  company  owned  1.3,335  ft.  on  the  strike, 
embracing  practically  all  the  known  rich  part  of  that  par- 
ticular conglomerate  bed.  It  was  recognized  at  that  time, 
as  it  is  now,  that  the  Calumet  i^-  Hecla  is  nut  representative 
of  the  region,  because  it  jiossessesa  lode  so  rich  that  there  is 
no  other  mine  to  be  compared  with  it,  either  in  amount  of 
l)roduction  or  in  extent  of  profit.  The  expenditures  and 
methods  of  this  company  would  have  killed  any  ordinary 
mine;  apparently,  the  management,  in  the  past  especially, 
lias  had  no  need  to  aim  at  economy,  and  evidently  it  did  not, 
although  it  does  now.  The  Cahnnet  I'c  Hecla  has  paid 
dividends  to  date  aggregating  SS0.3.")().()()()  on  a  cai)ital  of 
.*2..")(M),0n0.  ])ar  value. 


^ 


.A  1  ^.        ■•  k">   ■ 


wm^^^mmmmm^Bmik 


V. — L.VTKK  History. 


At  the  si.iitli  ('11(1  of  tli(>  Caluiiict  ,V-  Hcda,  tlic  lode  is 
\V(.rtlik"ss,  except  adjacent  to  the  Hecla  boundary;  and  to 

the  north,  on  the  Sd Iciaft  addition,  a  company  was 

ruined  in  an  effort  to  work  that  e.\tensi(jn  of  the  Cahiniet 
lo(lc.    Here  is  the  i)lace  to  tell  the  story  of  the  Osceola  mine. 

The  ()s(;eola  Consolidated  .Mining  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  1873;  it  was  based  ui)on  a  consolidation  of  ground 
owned  by  J.  \\.  Clark  and  Win.  Stewart,  resjjectively:  the 
stock  was  placed   among   a   few  subscribers   by  Horatio 
Higelow  and  .loseph  W.  Clark,  of  iJoston.    ]•:.  J.  Hulbert  was 
|)Ut  in  charge  of  operations,  and  a  mine  was  opened  near  the 
.southern  boundary  of  tlie  Calumet  ^  Hecla  ground.    The.se 
facts  cau.sed  the  coni|)aiiy  to  become  well  advertised,  so  that 
the  stock  was  eagerlytaken  on  the  understanding  that  the 
discoverer  of  the  C..i„m(>tMIecla  had  found  "another  con- 
glomerate belt"  of  similar  richness.     The  Osceola  at  first 
was  supposed  to  be  a  lode  different  from  the  Cahmiet.  its 
(lis(overy  being  bas(>d  upon  some  erratic  boulders  of  c(m- 
gloiiKM-ate  rich  in  cojjper,  found  lying  on  the  surface,     lint 
tlie  borings,  and  other  e\i)loratory  work  undertaken  bv  the 
new  company,   were  unsuccessful;  and,   wIkmi   it   became 
known  that  the  Osceola  was  really  working  the  (extension  of 
the  Calumet  conglomerate,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  disap- 
I)oiiitmeuf.     The  mine,  opened  on  the  Calumet  A"   Hecla 
lode.  j)rove(l,  however,  to  be  fairly  productive  at  first;  but 
the  progress  of  development  assured  ultimate  failure,  for  the 
Oscc^ola  owned  only  a  short  end  of  the  rich  ore-bearing 
ground  of  its  great  neighbor.    In  this  enuTgencv.  it  fortu- 
nately happened  that   an  amygdaloidal  coi)i)er  bed  was 
found  Sno  ft.  east  of  the  conglomerate,  and  steps  were  taken 
forthwith  to  test  it.     This  exploration  was  begun  in  1S77. 
and  four  shafts  were  sunk  in  (he  course  of  the  next  tnree 
.years.     In  ls77  the  iiroduction  was  2.774,777  lb.  copper. 


COPPER  MIXES. 


51 


and  it  rose  steadih'  to  G,S94,256  lb.  iu  1892.  Up  to  date 
this  company  has  disbursed  $4,439,6(K)  in  dividend.s,  on  a 
capital  of  Si2,r)(K),0(X). 

Xextwe  conietothe  story  of  the  Tamarack,  one  of  the  best 
in  til'  rocordsof  mininj;.  In  18.S0  the  Calumet  \'  Heda  had 


IIi:.\D-FR.\Mi:,  T\MARACK,  Nu.  j.  SH.AFT 

yiono  down  2, 5(H)  ft.  on  the  lode;  and  it  re((uired  only  l,tK}0 
ft.  more  to  reach  tlie  boundary  between  this  property  and 
the  Tamarack,  wliich  adjoined  to  tlie  west,  tliat,  is  on  the 
dip  side.  The  Tamarack  enterprise  wa.s  the  'deep  level'  of 
tlie  Caliunet;  and.  wliile  the  idea  of  sinkinp  a  vertical  shaft 
2.250  ft.  to  intercept  a  lode  dipping  out  of  the  ground  owned 
by  an  outcrop  comi)any.  is  now  a  conunon  form  of  mining 


THE  COFPEIi  MIXES 


eutcrpriae  at  Johamicslnirji,  it  was  a  new  and  {•(iiiiaircotis 
plan  to  adopt,  tweuty-fonr  years  ajro.  wlion  Horatio 
Bif,^(>lo\v,  Josepli  \V.  Clark  and  John  Danii'll  started  to  carry 
it  out.  Capt.  John  Danioll  gave  tiie  rcasou  for  the  faltii  that 
was  in  him  in  words  which  are  worthy  of  (luotation:  "The 
Calumet  iS:  llecla  ('omi)any  divides  §2.5lXJ,tH)0  among  it> 
stockholders  annually,  and  the  very  important  improv(>- 
ment  of  late  years  would  absorb  a  further  expenditure  of 
^."^(W ).()()();  for  the  machinery  erected  is  of  the  most  costly 
character,  while  it  seems  large  enough  to  reach  any  re(|uired 
ilei)th.  The  receipts,  then,  beyond  ruiming  expenses, 
would  be,  say,  .'?:{.(MM),0()().  The  amount  of  rock  treated  in 
the  stamp-mills  does  not  exceed  l.(KM)  tons  per  day.  say 
.•'>7(1.(M)()  tons  yearly.  Therefore.  Sft.HO  is  the  \mA\t  obtained 
per  ton  of  rock. 

"When  it  is  undcMstood  that  tiie  .\tlantic  and  the  lYanklin 
mines  earn  less  than  .SI  per  ton  on  rock  treated,  tiie  ( >sceola 
less  than  .51. .")().  and  t lie  (^uincy  mine,  in  her  most  iirospenius 
year,  less  than  .S4  |)er  ton.  and  then  on  uliout  one-tiiird  tiie 
(luantity  of  rock,  it  will  be  seen  that  tlie  cfTurt  to  g(>t  a  share 
of  tiiese  iimisual  (in  coijpcr)  profits,  is  jirompteil  l)y  verv 
sti'uiig  inceiiti\-es." 

The  Tam-'rack  property  was  organized  with  an  estate  of 
l.L'Sd  acres.  The  first  sliaft  was  started  in  that  corner  of  tiie 
company's  property  which  afTorded  the  shortest  vertical 
distance  to  the  lode.  The  work  of  sinking  was  beirun  in 
I'el)ruary,  ISSl.  and  on  June  20,  ISS.").  the  lode  was  struck. 
During  these  4V  years,  the  lowest  rate  of  sinking  was  42 
ft.  per  month,  and  tlie  highest  7(i  ft.  The  total  depth  was 
2.27(»  ft.;  the  cost,  all  exjienses  included,  aninunted  to  W\ 
per  foot.  At  fiOO  ft.,  the  shaft  cut  the  .Miouez  conglomer- 
ate: at  2.100  ft.,  the  Cahunet  iVr  Hecla  conglomerate;  and  at 
2.700  ft.,  the  Osceola  amygdaloid.  In  IS.S0  the  production 
of  copper  was  ISl.Od!)  lb.;  and  in  l.SSfi  it  was  .3.r)4f>.."il7  11).. 
increasing  to  7.4()."),(M)ti  lb.  in  ISST.  and  11.400.217  lb.  in 
1S.S,S.     Ill  that  year.  l.S.SS.the  first  dividend. amounting  to 


UF  LAKE  S'Jl'ERIOR. 


o:i 


S(»4(),(K)0,  was  puK.  on  a  noiiiiiml  capital  of  $1.0(X),0(X). 
Tlie  capital  was  increased  t(j SI, 250,(X)() during  the  spring  of 
ISDU,  and  to  Sl,5U().(K)()  in  ISW.  Up  to  date  the  dividends 
distributed  aggregate  $8,5S(),(X)(). 

The  Wolverine,  before  its  present  era  of  success,  had  been 
opened  up  in  a  small  way  by  local  jM'ople,  who  operated  one 
stamp,  treating  KM)  to  1")()  tons  per  day.  But  the  enter- 
prise ran  in  debt.  There  was  also  a  conflict  of  title,  two 
patents  having  been  issued  to  the  same  piece  of  land.  Mr. 
John  Stanton,  becoming  favorably  impres.scd  with  the  busi- 
ness, organized  a  company  and  pumped  out  the  mine;  but 
he  found  that  it  had  been  well  gophered  b}-  tributers.  lie 
opened  up  new  groimd,  and  started  crushing  in  i^cpteml)er, 
1S91;  !)ut  soon  realized  that  the  average  yield  was  insuffi- 
cient to  give  profits  wl;en  working  on  a  small  scale.  Cnisli- 
ing  ceased  on  .\pril  1.  1S02.  Production  having  ceased,  Mr. 
Stanton  again  proceeded  to  open  up  the  groimd  vigorously 
and  after  1.3  months,  a  second  start  was  made,  in  May,  1893, 
with  one  stamp  treating  250  tons  per  day.  In  1897  another 
stamp  was  leased  at  the  AUouiiz  mill.  Since  then  progress 
lias  been  continuous,  and  the  mine  ha.s  proved  increasingly 
profitable.  From  250  tons,  the  daily  output  has  increased 
steadily  to  1,000  tons  per  diem;  the  property  has  been  built 
up  gradually,  the  cost  of  moreterritory,newstamp-mill,  and 
equipment  having  been  met  out  of  earnings.  The  Wol- 
verine haspaiil  -SI. 770. 000  individends  on  anominal  cai)ital 
of  $1,000,000,  of  which  ?550.000  was  paid  in  property  and 
$230,000  ill  cash. 

The  existing  Atlantic  Mining  Company  was  formed  in 
December,  1872,  by  a  consolidation  (of  a  former  company 
of  the  same  name,  owning  the  South  Pewabic  mine)  with 
the  .\dams  Mining  Company,  the  joint  capital  being 
$1,000,000  in  40,000  shares  of  S2.t  each.  The  old  mine, 
known  as  the  South  Pewabic.  hail  been  ruined  by  the  lean- 
ness of  the  lode,  .\fter  exhausting  its  capital  stock  and 
sprn<ling  luilf  a  miL    -i  beside,  the  company  !ia<l  gone  into 


54 


LOl'l'ER  MISEH 


iniptcy,  and  tlio  new  Atlantic  eoiiipaiiy  \va.s  organized. 
i..is  new  organization  henefited  l)y  the  work  done  by  its 
predecessor. wiiicli,  failure  as  it  was,  had  opened  up  the  mine 
so  as  to  demonstrate  the  uniformity  of  the  lode  and  deter- 
mine its  average  yiehl;  moreover,  the  South  Pewabic  com- 
pany had  built  a  stamp-mill  l)y  the  lake  and  had  paved  the 
way — with  gold,  rather  than  with  copper — for  its  more 
businesslike  successor,  by  the  dccomplishmentof  agooddeal 
of  the  essential  preliminary  work.  The  Atlantic  proiluced 
S6:i,:if»6  lb.  copper  in  1873,  and  1,372,406  lb.  in  the  year 
following,  increasing  its  production  steadily  until,  in  ISMS, 
it  reached  3,074,972  lb.  In  19()2  the  30-year  charter  ex- 
l)ired,  and  was  renewed  for  a  further  30-year  term,  the 
capital  being  increased  concurrently  from  $l,()l)(>.()0()  to 
S2,.i(M),000.  Karly  in  its  history  this  mine  won  a  reputation 
for  cheap  working,  and  it  has  long  been  recognized  as 
wiiming  a  profit  from  the  poorest  copper  rock  exjjloited 
successfully  by  man.  In  1902  the  average  yield  was  only 
11.10  lb.  refined  copper  per  ton  of  ore  stamped,  this  being 
equivalent  to  O.H^rt  per  cent,  on  a  total  output  of  4.949..'>66 
lb.  refined  copper.  In  1903  the  yield  was  12.76  lb.  jier  ton 
on  a  yield  of  ,5.50.>..59S  Hi.  copper,  from  431.307  tons  of  rock. 
Total  costs  were  .51.347  i>er  ton.  equivalent  to  10. S6  cents 
per  pound  of  copper,  wliich  during  that  year  was  worth  13.12 
cents  per  pound.  The  lode  is  a  bed  1.)  ft.  wide,  of  compara- 
tively soft  amygdaloid,  in  which  th(>  native  copper  occurs 
with  such  uniformity  as  to  facilitat(>  exploitation.  The 
conditions  which  ha\!'  contriliuted  to  the  s])leiidid  work  done 
at  this  mine,  will  lie  discussed  in  their  pro|)er  jilace. 


\'l. — C'OPPKH    Rwiii:   COXSOI.IDATKD. 


The  Mineral  Range  railroad,  connecting  Hougliton  with 
Hancock,  was  coniplctccl  in  1873;  while  the  Duluth,  South 
Shore  &  Atlantic  reached  Houghton  in  1883.  In  1885 
Hancock  and  Houghton  were  connected  by  rail,  over  the 
drawbridge. 

Of  recent  mining  enterprises  in  the  Lake  Suj)erior  copper 
region,  the  most  important  is  the  Copper  Range  Consoli- 
dated Copper  Company.  This  organization  came  as  the 
indirect  result  of  efforts,  begun  by  Mr.  C.  A.  Wright  as  long 
as  fifteen  years  ago,  to  bring  about  the  construction  of  a 
railroad  which  should  traverse  the  copper  belt  south  of 
Houghton,  and  connect  that  town  with  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  railroad  at  Mass  City,  a  distance  of  41 
miles.  Owing  to  untoward  circim)stances,such  as  the  panic 
of  1S93  and  the  Spanish-American  war,  the  plan  failed  until, 
in  the  sunmier  of  lS98,when,  the  innninent  end  of  the  war 
stimulating  the  financial  market,  Mr.  Wright  conceived  the 
idea  of  combining  the  mineral  lands  controlled  by  the  South 
Shore  Mining  Company,  others  owned  by  Mr.  S.  I>.  Smith 
and  the  Douglass  estate,  together  with  a  large  acreage 
belonging  to  the  St.  Mary's  Canal  Mineral  I-and  Company, 
making  in  all  a  solid  block  of  11,500  acres.  This  plan  was 
subsefjuently  modified;  no  lands  of  the  Canal  Company 
were  included.  The  first  offer  of  assistance  from  that  com- 
pany was  a  subscription  of  8100,000  to  the  stock  of  the 
railroad,  but  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  war  this  offer  was 
withdrawn;  and,  after  the  war  was  over,  the  arrangement 
was  changed  to  a  bonus  of  2,240  acres  of  land  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  road,  whu-h  it  was  apparent  would  develop 
the  oth?r  large  tracts  of  land  owned  by  the  Canal  company 
on  the  South  Range. 

Thus  the  organization  of  a  mining-and-development  com- 
pany was  finally  carried  out  as  the  principal  motive  for  the 


II 


.')() 


77/ A"  (  OPI'KH  MISES 


CDiistruction  of  a  railroad,  whidi  .should  not  only  connect 
with  the  main  line  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  tV  8t.  Paul 
railroad,  but  siiould  also  serve  as  tlie  chief  artery  of  the 
copper  country  from  .Mass  City  to  Calumet.  Among  the 
projectors  of,  and  chief  contributors  to,  the  fulfilment  of 
the  plan  initiated  i)y  .Mr.  Wright,  were  Mr.  W.  A.  Paine,  of 
the  brokerage  firm  of  Paine,  Webber  &  Company,  Baston, 
and  .Mr.  R.  K.C.oodell,  the  agent  at  Houghton  of  the  Canal 
company. 

On  January  20,  1,S<>9,  the  Copper  Range  Company  was 
organized,  witli  a  capital  of  $2,.j()0,()()0  in  825  shares,™ to 
build  the  railroad  and  to  acciuire  7,50()  acres  of  mineral  land, 
with  the  offer  from  the  Canal  company  of  2,240  acres, 
conditional  upon  the  completion  of  the  railroad.  The  last 
sf)ikc  was  driven  on  Dc-cmber  27,  in  the  same  year,  1S99, 
and  the  bonus  mentioned  was  duly  paid.  In  ]May,  Dr.  L.  L. 
Hubbard,  in  charge  of  exploratory  work,  discovered  a  rich 
copper  lode  on  the  new  company's  territory;  and  this  led  to 
the  coml)ination  of  600  acres  of  the  Copper  Range  land 
with  an  eriual  acreage  l)elonging  to  the  Canal  company,  the 
1,200  acres  becoming  the  basis  for  the  organization,  in 
October,  of  tlie  Champion  Cnjiper  Company.  From  the 
very  beginning  this  mine  made  a  tood  showing. 

The  Chamiiion  and  Baltic  nanes  cover  the  same  lode. 
Wlien  tlie  lode  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Hubbard  on  the 
Champion  laiKJ.  it  had  already  been  jmned  valuable  by  the 
workings  of  tlii'  Maltic.  The  original  openings  extended  for 
nearly  a  mile,  and  tliey  were  of  such  promise  that  operations 
on  a  ]arg(>  scale  were  planned  with  confidence.  The  lode 
proved  to  be  ridier  than  any  in  tiie  region,  except  the  Calumet 
it  Hecla.  Ii\  January,  1902,  the  Champion  company  leased 
one  of  tlie  .\tlantic's  stamps;  hter  in  the  year  its  own  mill, 
of  three  heads,  was  ready.  These  milling  operations  tested 
the  120.4.S.')  tons  of  copjier  ore  broken    in    the  course  of 

'''  ■"'  Tliis  is  tlio  Usual  capitaliz.ilioii  of  a  Mi(liii;aii  tuiiiiii<i  coiup.inv 
ami  is  flip  iTiaxiimim  allo-.c(l  hv  flip  laws  of  tlir  Statp. 


^ 


or  LAKE  SCl'EHIOR. 


57 


y. 


^^ 


.)S 


riiK  <  nri'Hit  mim:s 


»>\|)|(irati>ry  work.  Tho  yield  wa.-i  4,1(m,7SI  11).  cninK'r,  or 
ail  avcrajie  of  ;54  lb.  per  ton.  In  llMKi  thf  output  was 
:Hl.S,t>N-'  toiis.wliicli  yielded  lt).4;{N.l.s4  lb.  refined  copi)er,an 
average  of  I'ij.ol  lb.  per  ton,  tlie  net  earnings  beinj;  8J<i7,')(>2. 
ont  of  whioli  .SiiCKJ.IKK)  was  paid  in  dividends. 

When  organizeil,  tlie  Copper  Hanjte  Company  bad 
.S1.<K)(I,(HK)  .set  aside  for  railroad  eonstrnetion,  and  .?2')0,(HI() 
for  development  of  mineral  lands.  In  1«H)1  a  braneh  was 
built  to  the  mills  on  Lake  Superior,  and  contracts  were 
dosed,  with  the  Trimonntain,  Champion  and  Adventure 
mines,  to  transport  their  output  and  supplies.  Other 
railroad  arrangements  were  made  with  the  conii)anies 
owning  the  .\tlantic  and  Baltic  mines. 

.Mr.  .lohn  Stanton  took  hold  of  the  Baltic  mine  in  1M>7; 
it  had  never  previously  been  orfianized  into  a  mininf:  com- 
])anv.l)ut  desultory  work  had  i)(>en  carried  out  byCapt.John 
Ryan,  the  father  of  John  K.  Kyan,  who  is  now  president 
of  the  .\malgamated.  A  shaft,  (iO  to  70  ft.  <lee]\  had  been 
sunk  by  him,  and  a  fiood  copper  lode  was  disclosed:  Init  the 
enterprise  never  developed  to  successful  exploitation.  At 
tlie  end  of  1S07.  shortly  after  the  organization  of  the  new 
company  by  Mr.  Stanton,  good  devclopnuMits  were  made 
on  a  new  lode;  milling  wa.s  begun  in  .July.  1S09.  by  the 
leasing  of  an  idle  stamp  in  the  .\tlantic  mill.  In  1002  the 
Baltic  mill  was  completed;  and  of  the  four  stami)s,  three 
cnisiied  rock  from  the  Baltic,  and  the  fotirth.  ti.e  outinit  of 
the  Champion.  In  1002  the  Baltic  company  crushed 
27r).0;?2  tons,  jiroducing  (i.2S.^,Sin  lb.  copper,  worth 
871().27r..  and  making  a  profit  of  81S2.7t)2.  In  lftO.3  the 
production  increased  to  10..iS0.007  lb.  coi>iier,  worth 
.Sl.421.211.  and  yielding  a  jirofit  of  S4S1.447. 

Ill  .Tamiary,  1002.  the  Baltic  mine  was  acquired  by  con- 
solidation, the  Copper  Range  Company  being  re-organized 
a<  tlie  Copper  Range  Consolidated  Company,  to  acquire 
the  stock  of  the  two  companies.  The  new  company,  org.xnized 
under  the  laws  of  \ew  .Ters(>y.  h.id  a  capital  of  $2S.5W.0nn 


W^^ 


OF  LAKE  sn'EliKHt 


58 


72 

X 


■J 


< 
H 
X. 

3 


00 


/  "h  (Ofl'Eli  MIXES 


'M 


ill  l'S,").(MI(i  -iiiirt  s.  ill  >.]iti'iiil)fr.  P.Hi:!,  ilif  cjipital  stock 
Wilsillcri'.iM'tl  ti>:fH."  IKHIsliitri'S  nf  till"  I  par  Millie  (if  SitN.. ")()().- 
(KK(,  ill  tmU'v  to  ciiiTv  init  tlf  iicqiiisitimi  of  t '  !•  'I'riiiniiiiitaiii 
iiiiiic.  wliicli  at  t  '  tiiiii  lus  in  ilclit  in  the  cxtcnl  i>t 
!«.s|(l.(MHl;  hut  ill'-  Mil  1  .111  hciii  cxpciiicd  in  Icjritiinatc 

(lc\ fli'iHiiciil  mil    I         >Mii  I  '.  tilt'  iiciicfit  of  wliicli  was  t 
ai>|M'ar  latiT.     T    ■    i  i  m.oih    aiii  iiiiii|iaiiy  liad  fallen  int.. 
ijillicnity.    Iiy    (I'li'ii.n    . I,,    lend-    iirciiiatui'dx'    ainl    •-o 
liccoiiiiii!:    Iiiipi' (•>  1^     i.-iii|  !i'i!    I'nr    t'liftlicr    ilcNclopnicin 
After  sl\  iiioiitl  -    s    -I    11       "•  >     ifk.       e  new   compaiiy  \\:i- 
alile   to  pr.>\e   \''::'     ii-'    1 1 i,.i' unitai m   \\a>  a^   rieli  as  tin 
Ualtic.      I'iie  Triin  .iiiilain.  (h  r  >  >inii  .-iiid  liultic  are  all  on 
the  s;inn    lode. 

Ill  l!Mi;{  air:iii)ieiiii'lils  were  iiiadi'  witli  .Mr.  .lolili  Slaliton. 
represent in;i  the  Wnlveriiie.  .Mnh;i^  and  \tlaiitic  iiiines. 
t"  organize  a  cniipaiiv.  lo  l>e  eall'  llie  Mii  iiiyiaii  >'ieltiii'_ 
Coiiipaiiv.  si\t\  per  cent  -'i  tln'  -oeU  to  he  lakii:  hy  the 
Cliaiiipioii.  'rriiuniMitain  and  lialtie  coniiiaiue-  The 
smelter  was  eoinpleted  ill  .liiiie.  I'.KII.  at  a  lol.-il  ,-.i.-t  of 
ah  mi;  SC,i);),(i|)ll. 

The  Clipper  Haiijie  ( 'olisolidated  ('  Der  ("oliip.  ny  ihi'l'e- 
fore  owns  .")ll.ill)ii  shares  or  uue-hall  li  ('liaiii|iioii  mine. 
the  raili  Kid.  the  lialtie  and  Triniouiitai  -  mine-  -i\-teiitli 
of  the  Mii'hiuali  sill. ■her,  '.I, odd  a<'re~  f  iiiineral  la  \\est  of 
the  Chan  oi nil  local  inii.  and  a  froiiiaiie  nf  four  mile-  ni'  iiiill- 
siieonl,;,  .-.'Superior.  I  )iirinu  I'.Mk;  he  enmhiihd  output  of 
•  'e  \aii:)us  properties  anioimled  I  i  d(  ■  IN.'.  I  1(1  11).  co|i|  I'r. 
wliich  hroiiirht  S|,().-)».(i:{|. 

'I'lii'  stor\'  of  this  ini|i:irtaiit  ori:am/,ation  h:i-  iieen  told  ai 
siiiie  leimtli.  Ix'canse  it  is  cliai':iiieri^tic  of  I  he  enterprise 
which  ha-  developed  the  w  i  ile  rejrioii.  Moreover,  the 
milling  actixitie-  'f  she  c;iiiipan\'  are  ceriaiii  to  irain  in 
iiiiporl  all'-'-  as  I  he  pie-ci  i  sysleitiai  u-  plans  c;i»ue  |o  M'tiil  ion. 
With  a  territory  co\f  iiii:'  t  e  laiii  mppc!  helt  f.,i-  \.7'^ 
miles  on  its  <t  rike.  and  for  \  niiles  mi  i  he  dii     1  his  company 

<vi!::M!:!!lds     :01      MVi-;s      of     wov!-:d:!e     (•;!!!!«••■        -Mvinty       O'lilind 


in    f.M       SI  fKHKHi 


1)1 


wliif  h  .  ill  tuiily  (>('  suiil  i  >  have  Ih  .n  only  tc-  :  hx  -iktu- 
tioii.- i.p  idat"'  With  ts  nt-lnm'i  mills  aiid  icltrr,  if  is 
a  -ich-c-  ;taiii.  ;  i  crpiiscot  gn-at  majjiiituilc  Fro  i  i.  v 
own  -lis  to  ihc  )5alt)c  aii'l  Chami'inii  iniiu  -,  a-s  woU  ,.s  U> 
x\\v  iihU-  ;iii(l  til'  siiit'ltiT,  I  uaiiHMl  ■loiMipn'S'ionof  skilful, 
suhstantiul  work  i;ii  ''101111111111  ciHrcf'  •!!  r  tiipii  of 
the  hiptit-*   rq)i     iti.  I  niwf   .■.inf«>s>  thai     int.        went 


11 !       1;  WiXL-K.NUW: 
A.  Painp.  John  Stantt.n 


COl'l'KK    MK\ 

K.  McM.  Stanton. 


to  1,    ii^hton,  my  ideas  of  the  Copper  Kaiiije  wefe  asso- 

eiated  eliioHy  with  the  pyr(ite<'hiiies  of  Mi.  Thiniias  W. 

F.awso'  ;  suid  it  wjis  only  l.y  ])oi~   i,;I  contact  with  men  and 

inj;-    m  the  j;fnund.  tliat  the  nnpression  of  Haiiihoyant 

•aii=  '  v^iLs  trradually  displaced  by  a  keen  appreciation  of  a 

u  '>usine^.s.  the  niafinitiide  and  siihstantial  character 

01   wiiich  it  reipiired  many  days  of  observation  to  rightly 

understand. 


VII. — MiMNi;  .Mktiiiids.     Tin;  (^ri\(  v. 


Iv.cry  iiiiiiiiig  rcfiioii  lias  local  terms  roiiuirinjj  ilcfinitioii, 
if  tlioy  arc  to  he  uiulcrstooil  bj'  those  Hviiifi  elsewhere. 
riRlerjrrouiul  in  the  Lake  Su])eri()r  copper  iiiiiieis,  two 
products  are  recoftiiized ;  the  valuable  output  known  as 
'copper-rock,'  an<l  the  refuse  or  'waste.'  The  big  masses  of 
native  metal  are  known  i)rief1y  as  'nui.s.s';  the  smaller  pieci's 
constitute  "barrel  work.'  because  usually  loaded  into  barrels; 
and.  finally,  there  is  the  run-of-mine,  or  'stamp-rock.' 
Particles  of  metal,  ranginji  from  slime  to  nujigets,  which  are 
extracted  by  milling,  are  collectively  termc<l  'mineral'; 
according  to  their  purity,  they  are  graded  in  three,  four,  or 
five  mmibers,  ranging  in  percentage  of  copper  from  2")  up  to 
72.  The  'mass'  and  'l)arrel  work'  will  average  ilo  per  cent 
cop]ier. 

Mining  methods  in  the  I'jjper  Peninsula  exhil)it  note- 
worthy differences;  and,  as  these  variations  in  undergroimd 
practice  are  based  n])on  diversity  of  conditions,  they  are  as 
creditable  to  the  technical  men  who  ajipl.v  them,  as  they 
are  instructive  to  the  ob.server  from  foreign  parts.  licfore 
venturing  to  connnent  or  to  criticise,  it  will  be  well  to  de- 
scribe tlie  maimer  in  which  the  work  of  actual  mining  is 
performed,  in  four  typical  instances. 

One  of  the  largest,  best  known  and  most  rei)reseiitative 
mines  in  the  Lake  Superior  district  is  the  (Juincy,  whose 
tall  rock-houses  overlook  the  waterway  that  serves  as  the 
main  highway  of  trans|)ort.  The  Quincy  has  seen  great 
changes  in  mining  methods;  it  is  f>nly  eight  years  since  the 
miners  went  to  work  uiuiifirround  on  a  'man  engine';  but 
that  ancient  abomination  is  now  a  dis]u)nored  inemorv,  and 
the  old  inclines,  "crooked  as  a  ram's  horn,"  have  been 
replaced  by  straight  shafts  and  winding  engines  of  modern 
design,  ("apt,  Samuel  H.  Harris,  the  former  manager,  and 
his  son,  Mr.  John  T,.  Harris,  the  present  superintendent. 


COPPER  MIXES. 


63 


have  iiiaile  a  great  many  changes.  In-  way  of  .straightening 
the  working  shaft.s,  putting  in  double  skip-roads,  and 
systematizing  operations  generally.  It  certainly  was  high 
time  to  do  something  of  the  kind,  for  the  shafts,  as  could  be 
seen  on  the  maps,  wercgetting  into  a  tangle.  The  two  new 
.shafts,  known  as  No.  (5  and  7,  are  at  right  angles  to  the 
strike  of  the  lode,  but  the  older  openings  were  (\into  uncer- 
tain in  their  bearings;  .so  that  while  the  distance  between 
shafts  Xo.  2  and  6  is  1,!)2S  ft.  at  the  surface,  they  are  only 
1,581  ft.  apart  at  the  53d  level;  in  the  same  way  No.  4  and 
7  are  only  S6U  ft.  apart  at  the  surface,  but  are  separated 
l)y  1,254  ft.  at  the  53d  level,  which  corresponds  to  a  vertical 
deptii  of  3.4S0  feet. 

The  scale  of  operatif)n  tends  constantly  to  increase;  thus, 
while  the  skips  in  the  old  shafts  held  only  two  tons  of  ore 
and  wen  hoisted  at  the  rate  of  5()0  ft.  per  minute,  now,  in  the 
new  shafts,  skips  carr^  iiig  eight  tons  arc  brought  to  daylight 
at  a  speed  of  3.00()  it.  per  minute,  with  a  maximum  of 
3,500  ft.  The  reader  will  appreciate  bo'tpr  what  this  means 
when  told  that  the  most  rapid  passenger  elevators  in  the 
tallest  buildings  in  New  York— such  as  the  Park  Row 
1)11  i Id ing— travel  at  a  speed  of  only  400  ft. per  minute;  and 
even  at  this  rate  of  descent  or  ascent  our  country  friend 
finds  his  heart  in  his  mouth. 

The  sliafts  are  6  by  19  ft.  in  the  clear,  and  the  two  skips 
work  in  balance— that  is.oneof  them  goestothelxittom.as 
the  other  comes  to  the  surface.  There  is  no  ]nmip.  the  mine 
making  so  little  water  that  it  can  all  be  hoisted  in  tanks. 
The  No.  2, 6  and  7  .shafts  are  equi])ped  to  handle  1.400  tons 
each  in  16  hours  of  actual  hoistinir.  the  remaining  time 
(exclusive  of  intervals  between  shifts)  being  devoted  to  the 
lowering  of  men.  tools  and  supplies. 

The  Quincy  mine  has  61  levels,  reaching  to  a  depth  of 
exactly  one  mile,  that  is.  5.2S0  ft.  on  the  dip.  or  4.00S  ft. 
vertical.  The  lode  dijis  55°  at  surface,  and  flattens  to  37°  in 
the  bottom  workings.    No.  7  .shaft  starts  at  54°  30'.  holds 


04 


TIIH  COm'ER  MIXES 


tills  l<ir  a  (listaiicc  of  1.040  It.,  and  tlicii  cuivc.-^  l.V  lor  740 
It.;  tluTc  is  a  22'  curve  lor  the  mwt  1.000  ft.,  and  a  oO' 
curve  for  tiTo  ft.;  tlieii  a  45'  curve  for  ■')iS'.i  ft.,  so  tlsat  at  the 
.")Stli  level  this  shaft  is  slopiiiji  t  ;]7°  and  is  ajjpro.xiniately 
parallel  to  the  lode,  thoufih  a  few  feet  underneath  it.  My 
carryinjj  the  shaft  in  »lie  foot-vall — al)out  10  ft. underneath 
■ — it  heconies  safe  to  slope  the  lode  in  its  entirety. 

The  ski])  weifihs  5  tons  and  carries  S  tons  of  rock.  It  is 
provided  with  4..")  in.  l)y  4.")  in.  anjrle-irons  one-half  inch 
thick,  two  at  each  end  of  the  skip;  these  are  '.\  ft.  4  in.  long, 
and  extend  below  the  Ixittoin  of  the  skip,  so  as  to  serve  as 
guides  hy  pa.ssinji  in  contact  with  the  wooden  niiuiers  which 
carry  the  rails.  No  instance  of  a  skip  "junipin.i;  the  track" 
is  known;  (piite  recently  a  falling  piece  of  rf>ck  struck  a  car 
wheel  and  hent  the  axle.  Init  the  (,ir  (or  skij))  was  held 
between  the  rails  and  slid  down  the  shaft,  without  injury  to 
the  track  or  to  anyone  near  it.  Kails  weighing  oO  lb.  jier 
yard  are  laid  in  the  shaft,  while  .';.")-lb.  rails  are  used  in  tlie 
levels.  The  traincars  used  luiderground  carry  ^i  tons  each, 
and  are  liauled  in  trains  of  threeor  roui  by  an  electric  loco- 
motive of  1.")  h.  p.,  weighing  o.")(X)  lb.  All  construciion  is 
heavy  and  substantial.  In  the  well-e(|uipiied  machine  an<l 
blacksmith  siiops  at  the  mine,  tiie  company  makes  its  own 
skips, cars  and  machine-drills.  In  the  blacksmith  sh()])there 
i.s  a  machine  for  shaping  and  shar])ening  the  drills.  *  blank 
steel  bar  is  instantly  forged  into  a  drill  ready  for  work  "ny  a 
pneum.itic  hammer  dmitping  upon  it  while  being  ])ushe(l 
over  a  die. 

.V  practic<>  recently  :  larted  in  the  (Juincy  mine  is  to  use 
a  cross  bit  (sometim(>s  known  as  a  'rose  bit'),  for  starting  a 
hole,  drilling  to,  say,  :>  ft.  deep,  and  then  to  employ  the 
plain  chisel  bit  in  finishing  the  hol(\  to  the  10  or  12  ft,  of 
total  dei)th.  When  ready  for  use.  the  drills  ire  bunched  in 
lots  of  a  dozen,  and  are  held  tightly  together  by  a  wrought- 
iron  ring  which  is  kept  in  place  by  wooden  wedges,  on  the 
faces  of  which  the  number  of  the  level  and  the  imniber  of 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


05 


the  contract  are  marked.    This  arrangement  is  preferable 
to  the  usual  rope  sling. 

Most  of  the  actual  mining  in  done  by  contract,  there 
being  four  men  (two  on  each  shift)  to  each  contract.  The 
two  shifts  of  10  hours  each  are  separated  by  intervals  of 


THE  OUINXV  SKIP. 


two  hours,  which  are  utilized  for  getting  rid  of  smoke  due 
to  blasting  and  for  ventilating  the  workings  generally. 

To  prevent  over- winding,  there  is  a  safety  catch,  which 
applies  the  brakes  automatically,  unless  they  are  released  by 
the  engineer,  as  soon  as  the  skip  arrives  within  150  ft.  of  the 
surface.  When  the  skip  is  dumped,  the  contents  fall  upon 
i  grizzly,  made  of  fixed  cast-iron  bars  capp;xl  by  a  remov- 
able angle-iron,  the  spaces  being  2  5  in.  wide.  The  biggest 
of  the  oversize  is  pushed  ham  Illy  into  a  low  two-wheeled 


! 


tio 


TIIl-J  COPPER  MINES 


tru  k,  and  is  then  trundled  to  the  rock-breaker;  this  is  an 
expeditious  way  of  niovhig  the  big  pieces  of  rock,  and  is 
ar.  "'Ivance  on  tiic  usual  manner  of  pulling  tlieni  across  the 
tloor.  The  smaller  pieces  are  throvn  direct  into  the 
crushers.  As  the  grizzlies  are  laid  at  a  low  angle,  some  of 
the  small  stuff  rests  on  the  bars;  this  is  hooked  to  the  front 
and  then  shoveled  into  the  small  crushers.  Tliere  are 
three  of  these  in  each  'roek-house,'  as  the  shaft-houses  are 
termed.  The  Blake  tyi)e  of  rock-breaker  prevails,  the 
biggest  with  18  by  24  in.  jaws,  and  the  two  smaller  each 
13  by  2U  inchci--.  The  unwieldy  pieces  of  !uass  copper  go  to  a 
droi)-hanmier  weighing  1.5  tons  an',  having  a  drop  of  20  ft., 
so  that  the  crushin  t  impact  is  equivalent  to  GO  ioot-tons. 
Here  the  rock  attached  to  copper  is  broken  off,  the  larger 
fragments  going  to  the  crushers,  while  the  remaining  metal 
is  lowered  into  cars  for  sliiiiment  direct  to  the  smelter. 
Smaller  chunks  of  copper.  >ay.  up  to  the  size  of  a  man's  hat, 
are  placed  under  a  steam  hammer;  in  each  rock-house  there 
is  one.  the  function  of  which  is  to  loosen  the  encasing  rock 
so  that  the  copper  is  rendered  clean  enough  to  go  forthwith 
to  the  smelter. 

Methods  underground  are  v  --thy  of  detailed  description, 
because  they  represent  a  pra.iice  which  has  been  evolved 
from  experience.  The  average  stoping  width  is  8  ft.— 
ranging  from  3  to  20  ft.  Shafts  ere  sunk  in  the  foot-wall, 
and  cross-cuts  at  each  station  connect  them  to  the  main 
levels.  The  nature  of  the  hanging  wall  varie,^  in  different 
parts  of  the  mine.  The  copper-bearing  rock  in  places  is 
separated  from  the  overlying  main  plane  of  lode-fracture, 
by  a  narrow  band  of  shaly  formation,  which  is  ant  to 
cause  trouble;  in  such  places  the  main  drifts  are  driven  well 
under  the  hanging,  so  as  to  leave  a  portion  of  copper  rock  to 
support  the  ground  and  thereby  avoid  exposing  the  shale 
band,  which  'blisters  off'  or  scales,  not  so  much  by  reason 
of  weathering,  as  on  account  of  strains  brought  about  by  the 
pressure  of  the  overlying  rock-mass,  following  upon  the 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR 


67 


excavation  of  the  extensive  upper  workings.  There  are 
plenty  of  joints  or  cross-fractures  in  the  lode;  these  make 
the  ground  heavy  in  places,  but  they  also  facilitate  stoping. 
No  cross-veins  or  feeders  of  decided  character  arc  observ- 
able, except  a  'spar  vein';  this  is  a  vein  of  calcite,  from  3  to 
15  ft.  wide,  which  cuts  across  the  lode  without  dislocating 
it  materially.  Mr.  John  L.  Harris,  the  superintendent,  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  courtesies,  states  that  dis- 
placements in  the  lode  are  less  frequent  the  deeper  the  level, 
and  that  several  dislocations  encountered  in  the  shallow 
workings— that  is,  down  to  3,000  ft.  on  the  incline— have 
gradually  dwindled  to  the  point  of  disappearance. 

The  main  difficulty  underground  arises  from  the  flat  dip 
of  the  lode.  At  an  angle  of  37°,  broken  rock  will  not  descend 
freely.  Waste  rock  is  Ijuilt  up  into  walls,  which  reach  from 
the  foot-wall  to  the  hanging,  and,  in  these  'pack  walls,' 
openings  a  re  left  for  the  chutes  or  passes,  at  intervals  of  40 
to  50  ft.  When  the  lode  is  broken  by  a  blast,  only  the  big 
pieces  roll  down;  the  remainder  is  pulled  and  hooked  down 
until  it  lands  on  a  platform  or  'sollar'  on  the  foot-wall  side 
of  the  level,  whence  it  is  shoveled  into  the  cars.  At  each 
chute  or  'mill-hole'  the  trolley  line  of  the  electric  tram  is 
protected  by  a  piece  of  timber,  which  prevents  flying  pieces 
of  rock  from  cutting  the  wire. 

At  each  station  there  is  an  arrangement  for  the  loading 
of  the  skip,  which  merits  attention.  It  is  an  intelligent 
device  for  overcoming  the  low  inclination  of  the  shaft.  A 
winze  or  'pocket'  is  cut  in  the  hanging  wall,  either  in  the 
lode,  or  in  the  overlying  trap,  according  to  local  conditions 
at  the  successive  levels.  This  pocket  has  an  inclination 
which  is  never  less  than  40°,  and  is  frequently  nearly  verti- 
cal, so  as  to  allow  of  a  free  descent  of  the  broken  lode- 
stuff.  Any  one  of  such  pockets  will  hold  500  tons;  it  will 
reach  down  to  the  next  station  and  terminate  close  to  the 
shaft,  where  there  is  a  chute  and  apron,  the  latter  having 
a  sheet-iron  spout,  which  is  lowered  when  the  skip  is  being 


6S 


77//-;  COl'l'KR  MISKS 


AKKANOKMKNT  FOKUlADlMi   SKIP. 
Front   View. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


69 


ARR.WC.HMENT    FOR  LOADING   SKIP 
Side  View. 


70 


THE  COPPER  MINES 


loaded.  In  one  instance,  at  the  No.  2  shaft,  the  same 
pocket  or  winze  connects  tliree  levels,  it  being  so  arranged 
that  dumping  is  practicable  at  both  of  the  upper  two  levels 
— that  is,  tramcars  can  be  discharged  at  the  55th  level  or  the 
56th,  so  as  to  reach  the  skip  at  the  57th  level. 

The  loading  of  the  skip  to  its  full  capacity  is  facilitated 
by  the  lilting  device,  shown  on  the  opposite  page.  About 
10  ft.  l)elow  the  floor  of  the  station,  a  portion  of  the  runner, 
on  which  rails  are  secured,  is  notched  out,  so  as  to  receive 
a  device  made  of  semi-steel,  as  shown  in  the  drawing. 
This  device  is  equipped  with  a  tongue — about  2.5  ft.  long 
— faced  with  steel,  which  takes  the  place  of  the  rail,  and 
is  hinged  so  that  it  can  be  raised  by  a  lever  placed  at  the 
station.  When  these  tongues  are  raised,  the  skip  is  lowered 
until  its  hind  wheels  drop  into  the  tilting  device.  Here  the 
skip  is  firmly  held,  tilted  at  an  angle  of  50°,  until  loaded 
from  the  chute,  which  is  charged  from  the  level  above.  It 
is  then  hoisted,  and  the  tongues  (which  have  rested  on  the 
hind  wheels)  drop  back  in  place  automatically,  leaving  the 
rails  continuous,  as  before. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


71 


cr=4--3 


o 


> 

c 

c 
r. 


o 
5 


mpHMMMMI!! 


VIII. — Atlantic  and  Woiakuink  .Mink>. 


The  Atlantic  iiiine  has  acliievcd  an  envialjlf  reputation 
by  rcaisoii  of  holding  the  record  in  the  profitable  exploitation 
of  low-grade  cop[)er  ore.  Tiie  average  output  during  the  last 
tiirce  years  has  been  successively  11.4,  ll.()U5  and  12.7(j  lb. 
of  refined  copper  per  ton,  this  being  equivalent  to  0.57, 
0.555  and  0.638  per  cent,  res|)ectively.  It  will  be  in  ten-st- 
ing to  note  the  conditions  and  methods  which  have  enal)led 
Mr.  Frank  McM.  Stanton,  the  manager,  and  Capt.  John 
Stratton,  the  mine  captain,  to  attain  these  remarkable 
results. 

All  mining  is  done  by  contract.  Each  contract  is  usually 
let  to  four  miners  for  a  block  of  ground,  90  to  95  ft.  long, 
and  reaching  nearly  up  to  the  next  level.  The  actual 
height  of  the  stopes  will  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the 
ground — that  is,  whether  or  not,  for  instance,  the  hanging 
is  heavy,  it  being  customary  to  leave  a  floor  or  arcii  12  to 
15  ft.  thick  to  support  the  level  overhead,  so  that  the  stopes 
are  70  to  73  ft.  in  height,  as  measured  from  the  track  of  the 
lower  level,  each  'lift '  being  85  ft.  o.i  the  lode. 

The  full  size  of  the  lode  is  broken,  'from  trap  to  trap,' 
or  from  foot  to  hanging  wall;  the  width  ranging  from  13  to 
17  ft.,  with  a  stcadj'  average  of  15  ft.  The  miners  are  paid 
for  15  ft.  and  must  take  the  full  width,  whether  less  or  more, 
as  directed  by  the  shift-bosses.  It  used  to  be  the  practice 
to  pay  by  the  cubic  fathom;  but,  owing  to  the  temptation 
to  get  an  extra  width  by  blasting  into  poor  rock  wherever 
the  lode  was  narrow,  it  was  found  more  satisfactory  to  as- 
sume 15  as  the  imit  of  width,  and  to  multiply  this  into  the 
height  and  length  w  hen  measuring  up.  before  settling  with 
the  contractors;  but  this  rule  is  interpreted  fairly  by  the 
mine  captain,  so  that  no  injustice  is  done  to  the  men  in 
those  instances  where  a  width  greater  than  15  ft.  of  copper 
ore  is  actually  broken. 


(  i 


COH'KIi  .U/iVfi". 


73 


Main  drifts  are  run  S  ft.  iiigli  aid  usually  the  width  of 
the  lode.  .;\s  the  driviiij;;  forin.x,  ainiont  invariably,  a  part 
of  the  v.hole  contract,  the  width  of  the  drift  is  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  inen,  who  either  break  the  full  s*ize  of  the 
ore  as  tliey  p^ogre^.<,  or  inuke  a  drift  S  ft.  wide  and  (i  ft. 
high.  When  the  t^pecifietl  distance— IK)  to  95  ft.— has  l>een 
advanced,  the  men  come  back  and  extend  the  '  cutting-out 
stoi)o'  (or,  as  they  express  it,  "jmt  in  the  timber  ground") 
to  a  height  of  from  IG  to  Its  ft.  above  the  track.  JStulls  are 
])ut  in  place,  and  lagging  is  laid  over  them.  Then  regular 
sloping  commences,  and  is  continued  until  the  contract  has 
been  carried  out  and  the  ground  ^^quared,  measured  and 
paid  for.  Thereupon  another  stretch  of  drift  is  started,  and 
the  succession  of  operations  is  repeatetl,  as  before. 

It  takes  about  two  months  to  advance  a  drift  90  feet — 
remember  that  it  is  carried  the  full  width  of  the  lode — and 
it  requires  about  three  months  more  to  finish  the  cutting-out 
stope.  Timbering  is  done  by  company  men  as  the  stopes 
advance.  Stulls  over  the  le\el  are  four  feet  apart,  and  the 
lagging  is  so  placed  that  it  can  be  pulled  out  between  any 
two  timbers  whenever  it  becomes  necessary  to  make  a  pass 
for  the  rock  broken  overhead.  This  runs  down  to  aplatform 
or  'sollar,'  made  of  three  or  four  boards  laid  level  with  the 
track,  and  from  this  ]  latform  the  ore  is  shoveled  into  the 
cars.  There  are  no  chutes  or  timbered  mill-holes.  It  is 
appreciated  that  the  use  of  them  means  great  wear  and 
tear  of  timber,  so  the  broken  rock  is  allowed  to  run  down 
along  the  foot-wall  of  tlie  stope,  which  dips  at  about  54°, 
the  stulls  being  arranjfd  in  line  so  as  to  break  the  descent 
as  little  as  possible.  The  ore  broken  in  the  drift  is 
trammed  out,  but  that  which  comes  from  the  cutting-out 
stope  is  left  for  the  miners  to  stand  upon  while  making  th<> 
next  cut ;  then  this  material  also  is  removed  pending  tim- 
bering. When  this  work  is  done,  and  stoping  is  resumed, 
the  broken  lodestuff  is  allowed  to  accumulate  so  as  to  rest 
upon  the  stulls,  until  the  top  of  the  stope — say,  70  ft.  above 


74 


Till-:  COt'l'KR  MINES 


the  track — has  beon  aitamed;  then  the  lodestuff  is  drawn 
away  through  holf^,  niade  by  removing  the  lagging  between 
the  stull.>  at  the  level. 

The  lode  dips  at  54°,  and  therefore  allows  a  free  descent 
of  the  rock  by  gravity;  t>ut  it  is  too  wide  to  |)ennit  rigging 
up  of  tlie  drill  on  the  l..ot-wall.  Scarcely  any  sorting  is 
done,  but  as  the  ore  is  loadetl  into  the  cars  underground, 
an  occasional  piece  of  clean  trap  is  picked  out;  this  only 
amounts  to  one  car  in  40  or  50,  that  is,  2  to  2.5  per  cent. 
At  surface  some  sorting  is  done  in  the  rock-house,  but  this 
also  is  insignificant,  only  one  car  per  shift — that  is,  one  in 
200  or  220,  equivalent  to  loss  than  0.5  per  cent.  This,  of 
course,  is  an  important  factor  in  keeping  costs  low.  In  the 
rock-house  one  man  handles  from  90  to  95  tons  per  shift; 
there  is  but  little  time  lost,  in  picking  out  pieces  of  lump 
copper,  a,s  compared  to  richf "  mines,  for  only  about  5  bar- 
rels, containing  ."}  tons  in  all,  ci  metallic  copper,  are  picked 
out  of  the  total  output  in  the  course  of  an  entire  month, 
during  which  period  ■'»'  900  tons  of  copjier  ore  are  hoi.'-ted. 

Contractors  pay  for  raiuiics,  fuse,  caps,  powder  and  steel, 
as  consumed.  The  usual  price  for  stoping  is  $7.50  to  $8.50 
per  fathom  cube,  with  a.  fixed  width  of  15  ft.  Drifts — 6  ft. 
high  and  S  ft.  wide — are  worth  $(5.50  to  $8.50  per  running 
foot;  but  this  method  of  measurement  is  only  adopted 
when  no  stoping  is  includi'd  in  the  contract.  In  drifts  the 
drill-hoK~  average  from  5  to  G  ft.  deep,  and  in  stopes  7 
to  8  ft.  \V'Tien  stoping.  5  holes  per  shift  of  10  hours  is 
considered  fair  'vork,  this  representing  the  breaking  of 
about  75  to  80  cubic  fathoms  per  month.  In  drifts,  6  to  7 
holes  per  shift  is  pretty  good ;  this,  at  the  rate  of  40  to  45  ft. 
per  month,  the  full  width  of  the  hole,  is  equivalent  to  16 
to  20  cubic  fathoms.  Twelve  cubic  feet  of  rock  in  place 
represent  one  ton. 

Timbers  vary  from  16  to  .'iO  in.  diam.,  avera"nng  about 
two  feet.  Two  men  make  the  round  of  the  workings  to  drill 
'block  holes,'  so  as  to  break  up  masses  of  rock  too  big  for 


fwtim^' 


OF  LAKE  SUPKIilOK. 


75 


< 


O 
CD 
CA 

< 


76 


77/A'  COPPER  MINES 


handling.  The  removal  of  waste  Ls  also  facilitated  by  the 
design  of  the  cars,  an  important  factor  in  tlie  attainment 
of  low  costs.  As  tlie  accompanying  drawing  will  illustrate, 
the  cars  are  8  ft.  long,  2  ft.  high,  and  28  in.  wide,  inside. 
Each  requires  two  men,  and  carries  1.7  tons.  The  bottom 
of  the  car  stands  only  8  in.  above  the  track,  so  that  shoveling 
is  easy;  both  ends  arc  open,  and  tl»e  wheel-base  is  so  pro- 
portioned to  the  overhang  that  the  car  can  be  tijjped 
easily  at  either  end,  and  the  sloping  surface  of  the  bottom 
can  readily  be  utilized  as  a  skid  for  sliding  heavy  rocks  into 
the  body  of  the  car.  The  trannners  pile  up  the  big  pieces  at 
each  end  so  as  to  make  a  rough  sort  of  retaining  wall,  and 
then  shovel  the  small  stuff  inside.  It  used  to  be  the  prac- 
tice to  fill  a  closed  car  from  a  platform  or  soUar  28  in.  above 
the  track,  as  is  done  in  the  majority  of  metal  mines;  but 
since  most  of  tlie  ore  "breaks  big,'"  the  trammers  caimot 
control  the  large  pieces  without  great  loss  of  time  and  the 
smashing  of  the  cars  by  tlieill-rogulated  descent  of  awkward 
chunks.  Two  car-loads  fill  a  skip;  the  latter  rests  on  the 
track  while  being  chargi-tl,  but  it  is  kept  in  place  by  a  gate, 
a  heavy  wooden  framework  liinged  to  a  cross-timl)er  along 
the  hanging  wallcf  the  shaft,  and  lowered  into  place  tUKler 
the  skip  by  means  of  a  f-in.  wire  rope,  running  over  a  block 
operated  by  a  lever  at  the  station. 

The  output  of  the  mine  ranges  from  1,.3(X)  to  1,4()0  tons 
of  stamp-rock  per  24  ho)irs,  while  sinking  of  one  shaft  is 
goinf  fin.  This  prfiduotion  is  due  to  the  labors  of  .SHS  men 
underground,  aided  by  'A7  machine  drills.  The  (listribution 
includes: 

148  men  on  the  drills;  2  men  per  drill  per  shift. 

156  trammers,  timbermen  and  heli)ers. 

5  siiift-bosses  and  2  tranuner-l)osses, 

2  men  drilling  block  holes  and  2  rei)airinp  skipw.ay,  etc. 

fi  timbermen  and  fi  helpers. 

The  care  of  tlie  shaft,  skipway,  pumps  and  actual  sinking 
of  one  shaft   is  included.     Two  Ixivs  sprinkle  the  shaft- 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


77 


78 


rilE  COPPER  MINES 


timbers  and  the  drift-liuibei-s  with  water  for  a  distance  of 
50  ft.  each  way  from  the  sliafts,  in  order  to  prevent  'dry  rot,' 
a  fungoid  growth  which  destroys  the  timber  wherever  there 
is  either  not  enough  water  to  keep  it  wet  or  where  tlie  air  is 
too  dry.  l-ormerly  the  timbers  between  the  9th  and  12th 
'evels  used  to  decay  in  a  year  or  18  months;  now,  by  reason 
uf  the  sprinivUng,  they  last  for  five  or  six  years. 

The  low  working  cost  at  the  Atlantic  is  due  to  the  com- 
parative Mniformity  of  the  lode,  bringing  sorting  down  to  a 
minimum;  it  is  also  due  to  the  continuity  and  length  of  the 
orebody.  This  is  indicated,  better  than  in  words,  by  the 
accompanying  longitudinal  section  of  the  mine.  Mine 
managers  in  other  regions  will  appreciate  the  eloquent 
testimony  afforded  ly  the  stope-map  of  the  Atlantic. 
Furthermore,  the  copper  rock  is  a  comparatively  soft  amyg- 
daloid easy  to  drill  in  the  mine,  and  easy  to  stamp  in  the 
mill.  The  width— 15  ft.— is  conducive  to  expeditious 
H!topin;i,  and  the  dip— 54° — facilitates  transfer  from  the 
stope  to  the  car.  Beyond  tiiese  favorable  factors,  and 
equal  in  importance  to  arj  of  them,  is  one  which  is  to  be 
credited  not  to  nature  hut  '.o  man.  and  that  is  sound  busi- 
ness iiianacemont,  counting  the  cents  no  less  than  the 
dollars,  and  dirccti;;?  operatioas  with  an  excellence  of 
judjtment  worthy  of  the  best  tr.iditions  of  the  mining  in- 
dustry. 

The  Wolverine  mine  Ls  one  of  the  most  successful  enter- 
prL«es  in  tlie  Lake  copper  district,  and  for  this  reason  the 
methods  employed  underground  invite  investigation.  In 
general,  the  system  in  vogr.o  resembles  that  which  we  have 
seen  at  the  .Atlantic,  with  modifications  due  to  jrreater 
richnt>ssof  lode,a  greater  width  of  sloping,  and  a  flatter  dip. 

When  opening  a  new  level,  a  stope-drift  is  let  on  contract, 
a  lireast  25  ft.  high  iH-ing  carrie<l  forwnrd  at  the  full  width 
of  the  1  lie,  aho\it  12  ft.  If  stoping  is  not  inchifled  in  the 
contract,  the  drift  is  made  6  ft.  liigh  and  6  ft.  w  ide,  the  price 
averaging  S5..50  per  running  foot.    Stoping  is  paid  for  at  an 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


79 


average  price  of  $8.60  per  cubic  fathom  of  ::;16  cu.  ft.;  in  the 
ctae  of  a  stope-drift  tlie  miners  receive  $5.50  for  the  size  of  a 
drift,  tlie  remainder  of  the  excavation  being  paid  for  on  a 
stoping  basis. 

Tlie  lode  is  remarkably  regular  in  width,  and,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  tliere  are  no  stopcs  less  than  12  ft.,  except  in  one 
place  on  the  West  vein;  on  the  other  hand,  the  rriaximuni 
rarely  reaches  20  ft.  It  has  been  found,  by  actual  com- 
putation from  the  area  of  ground  excavat«il  and  from  tiiC 
tonnage  received  at  the  mill,  that  tiie  average  widtli  of  rook 
extracted  throughout  tlie  mine  is  12  ft.  lmu.<t  explain  this 
matter  carefully  l)ecau.sc  it  is  an  important  factor  m  tlie 
contract  system,  in  the  application  of  which  there  is  an 
assumed  unit  of  width — which  is  this  12  ft.  The  men  are 
paid  by  the  cubic  fathom,  but  in  every  ca.se  the  unit  of 
width  is  the  same,  even  though  the  stopes  should  exhibit 
local  divergence  from  this  average.  An  exanple  will  make 
this  clear:  If  thi  gr<;und  !»roken  by  fr»ur  nwn  measurt*  20  ft. 
long  by  19  ft.  high,  then  the  width  is  put  down  ai;  12  ft., 
making  4. -500  cu.  ft.,  which, divided  by216,  is  e<|uivalent  to 
21.1  cubic  fathoms,  or,  at  $8  per  fathom,  $168.80.  In 
every  contract  the  width  is  put  down  at  12.  This  practi- 
cally amounts  to  payment  by  .sfjuare  fathom  for  th*  full 
size  of  a  uniform  width  of  ItKle;  aiul  on  thi«  ba.'sis  the  price 
would  be  twice  as  much  ]ht  sfjuare  fathom  as  it  is  iiow  per 
cubic  fathoii,  tlic  \  idth  iH'ing  12  ft.  in  ^K)th  ca.ses.  In  the 
above  example  20  multiplied  by  1!)  wo\ild  equal  380  .sq.  ft., 
\ihich,  (lividtHl  by  36,  would  give  lO..*)-")  sfjuare  fathoms; 
and  this  at  S16  per  fathom  would  make  the  same  total, 
namely.  $168.80.  This  nirious  practice  is  dpscril)ed  in 
detail  because  it  puzzled  me  a  gfKxl  rieal :  ond  it  affortlc  an 
example  of  empirici  m  without  theorv',  or,  to  put  it  kindlier, 
of  iiiethod  developed  from  exi)erience.  and  adapted  to  par- 
licular  conditions. 

In  order  to  meet  extreme  variations  from  the  assumed 
uniformity,  fair  treatment  of  the  miners  is  ref|uirpd,  and 


80 


77/F  'OPPKK  MIXES 


they  receive  it  at  f'  exi)erieiicc(l 'captains.'     This 

id  as  true  at  the  at  tlie  Atlantic.     If  the  lode 

is  unusually  wide, .  -iC  20  ft.,  and  the  men  have  fallen 

short  of  earning  an  average  wage,  the  captain  "turn.s  in  a 
fathom  or  two,"  so  as  to  make  it  right. 

To  return  to  the  actual  minuig:  When  the  drift  has  t*een 
extended  to  the  boundary  or  to  the  eml  of  tlie  orebody,  a 
'stope  and  raise'  is  started  to  reach  the  level  overhead  .so  as 
lo  I'stablish  ventilation,  and  make  a  point  of  departure 
from  which  the  stopes  are  extended  backward  toward  the 
nearest  shaft.  The  'stope  and  raise'- is  let  for  a  lenpth  of 
75  ft. ;  and  wlien  it  is  finished,  regular  stopinj;  or  "lift  and 
stope'  is  given  out  in  blocks  of  60  to  80  ft.  long,  this  Ix^ing 
about  the  amount  nf  ground  covered  by  a  party  "f  four  men 
working  for  a  period  of  thre(>  months.  'Stope  and  r:<i>f'  is 
worth  S7  to  SS  per  fathom;  once  m  a  while  the  mi-n  are 
allowed  iis  much  as  $!)  per  fm.  in  uiuisually  hard  ground, 
but  no  contract  ha-;  ever  been  let  at  that  Jigun-.tiie  extra 
amount  Iwing  a  special  concession  made  simply  as  a  matter 
of  fair  dealing.  Plain  stoping  averages  ^7  per  fm.  Con- 
tracts are  given  to  four  men  with  one  drill,  two  men  per 
shift.  If  only  tw<)  men  are  in  the  contract,  the  price  is 
$0.50,  l)ecause  they  work  on  vlay  shift  only.  The  men  are 
paid  indivichially,  the  subdivision  of  the  ♦otal  amount 
earned  being  done  by  the  company.  This  prevents  sub- 
c(jntracting.  Part  payment  is  made  every  month,  but  the 
final  settlement  is  not  efTect(>d  until  ttie  contract  is  finished 
and  the  ground  sfjuared:  th(!  menthcn  get  the  bahmce  due 
tlu'in.  The -iinking  of  shafts  is  also  (lone  on  couti.ict.  at  an 
average  of  .S16  per  ft.,  for  a  shaft  S  ft.  by  17  ft.  in  the  clear. 
I'he  contractors  pay  for  all  supplies  and  steel.  A  deduction 
of  $-i  per  month  is  made  for  steel  consumed:  the  drills  are 
weisrhed  at  intervals  of  three  months.  If  two  men  only  nre 
joinoii  m  a  contract,  they  ]iay)?2  per  month  for  their  steel. 
This  is  for  wastage.  If  any  drills  are  lost,  the  men  pay  at  the 
rate  (if  2.")  cents  jier  pouiKl. 


or  LAKE  SUPKHHUf. 


81 


There  i.s  no  timlieriiig  whatever  u>  h<>  seen  either  in 
stopes  or  drifts.  Tlie  Jode  dips  at  an  uuglo  of  40°,  and  the 
jrround  stand>^  splendidly,  l:^ven  the  shafts  are  not  lined, 
tiie  only  timbers  being  the  dividing  posts  Ijetween  the 
skipvvay  and  the  ladders.  The  rock  does  not  'blister'  or 
scale  off.  A  staging  of  plank  on  light  spreaflers  i-  the  only 
wood  to  be  seen  in  the  stopes.  When  the  width  r'-nioved  is 
unusually  great,  a  stuU  or  two  is  oinployed  to  hold  up  the 
broken  rock  so  that  the  men  can  rig  up  their  irill  in  order  to 
reach  the  hanging;  but  this  is  uncommon.  L^ually  the  dip 
and  the  width  of  the  lode  jointly  j*)?rf>rd  condition.«  permit- 
ting the  drill  to  be  set  up  on  the  foof.'-.vall.  rhLs  matter  of 
dip  is  important  in  several  ways;  whilp  by  being  ««ther  flat 
it  facilitates  the  preparation  for  drilling,  it  is,  on  tk^  other 
hand  not  tof)  fiat  to  prevent  the  ilescent  of  the  broken  rock, 
riie  latter ruiLS  fairly  weil.dc<()itc  the  unev<»n  surface  of  tiie 
foot-wall.  Big  pieces  of  rock  loll  autoniatieally,  and  it  is 
only  the  fine  stuff  that  has  to  i)e  scrape*!  down,  whifh  is 
done  whenever  a  stope  is  cleaner!  up  on  its  "-xhaustion. 
T'  '^re  are  no  timbered  chutes  or  'mill-holes';  as  ("apt. 
William  T'oUard  said  to  me:  "Tlie  men  just  put  down  a 
t>oa!%i  or  two,  and  make  a  soUar  at  the  love!."  From  this 
extemporized  platform  the  tram.ners  shovel  the  ore  into 
the  c«rs.  The  laner  resemble  those  a*  t!ie  Atlantic;  they 
are  7  ft.  Img.  2  ft.  f)  in  wide,  and  2  ft. 2  ir..  higli.  with  12-in. 
wheels  and  a  22-in.  wheel-bxse,  so  that  tliev  swing  around 
easily.  The  track  is  of  3-ft  gauge  and  tiie  bottom  of  the 
car  is  only  8  in.  above  it. 

The  back  of  the  car  is  closed,  but  the  front  is  ojjen  the 
latter  lias  an  overhang  of  ^  ft.  4  in.,  and  when  big  rocks  are 
hamllcd  the  front  of  the  car  is  depresscfl.  so  that  the  bott**.-! 
of  it  can  l>e  used  as  a  skid.  The  larger  pieces  are  ^4*«*i  *f 
the  front  end.  making  a  rough  wall,  while  the  sma?«^^  -stuff 
is  thrown  behind.  The  overhang  is  less  in  front  than  i*+iind, 
init  this  is  adjusted  1)\'  t!ic  lesser  weight  at  the  back 'if  the 
.•ar.     There  are  three  men  io  each  car;  one  man  pi^'k-  out 


82 


COri'ER  MINKS. 


occasional  pieces  i)f  wiuste  wiiile  tlie  t)tlui'  iwo  are  luadiiiji. 
As  soon  as  two  carloads  of  waste  have  lieeii  accuniulated^ — 
making  one  skip-load- — tliey  are  sent  to  the  surface.  The 
waste  from  cross-cuts  and  other  barren  exploratory  work- 
ings is  dumped  into  olil  stojx's  and  is  not  hoisted. 

The  lo.ie  is  a  comparatively  soft  amygdaloid,  and  does  not 
contain  nnieh  lump  copper;  what  there  is  of  it  is  ])icked  out 
at  the  rock-house,  iii  amounts  varying  from  10  to  20  tonsjx-r 
month.  At  the  mill  another  10  or  1.")  tons  is  soited  out 
before  the  ore  goes  inider  the  stani|).  Last  year  a  total  of 
328,000  tons  of  ore  was  hoisted  and  only  14,(KM)  tons  c." 
waste  was  picked  out.  this  being  iniuivalent  to  about  4  jkt 
cent  only  of  the  full  wiiltii  of  lode  sto])cd  in  the  niiiie.  The 
output  for  the  year  ending  .lune  :>0.  HK)4.  a\''rag(>d  20.r>l  lb. 
refined  copper  ])er  ton  of  ore,  e(|uivaU'iit  to  1.4S  per  cent. 
The  costs,  including  construction,  amounted  to  ^(Kl'i.lSo.lS, 
equal  to  fi.Stiitc.  ju'r  lb.  refined  copper:  tlie  jirofit  was 
$5.57.240.34;  conse(|uently  the  profit  was  in  the  proportion 
of  S7.72  per  cent.  Tliose  who  are  familiar  with  copper  min- 
ing will  appreciate  the  umisually  favorable  character  of  '.he 
conditions  prevailing  in  the  Wolverine  mine;  if  the  lode  had 
a  dip  of  1°  more  it  would  l)e  as  perfect  a  ))ro])osition  as  a 
miner  could  desire;  if  the  dip  were  ri°  more,  stulls  would  lie 
required  for  the  minors  to  stand  upon;  and  if  .">°  less,  it 
would  be  too  flat  for  the  free  descent  of  the  broken  ore. 
So  it  is  evident  that  the  conditions  are  nearlv  ideal. 


i-'^— The  JJaltic.    .Mining  Methods  Reviewed. 

The  iiiaiu  feature  of  tmderground  work  in  the  Baltic  mine 
is  the  substitution  of  rock-walls  in  place  of  timbering. 
Formerly  the  Atlantic  method  was  employed;  long  stulls 
were  laid  across  the  top  of  the  drifts,  and  the  drillers  rigged 
their  machines  on  the  broken  rock  until  the  block  of  ground 
had  been  stoped  away  to  the  next  level  or  near  it;  the  lode- 
stuff  was  sent  straiglit  to  the  niill,  the  porportion  of  waste 
picked  out  in  the  rock-house  being  about  20  per  cent. 
There  was  no  sorting  whatever  underground  Such 
methods  might  answer  with  a  lode  of  regular  width  and 
fairly  uniform  mineralization,  but  the  copper-bearing 
channel  of  the  Baltic  is  distinctly  irregular.  In  mining,  it 
was  the  custom  to  extend  the  stope  upward  on  the  dip,  and 
of  the  same  width  as  the  showing  at  tlie  level;  in  conse- 
quence, bulges  of  copper  ore  were  often  missed;  the  rock 
broken  within  *he  narrow  limits  of  this  method  had  all  to  bo 
sei:t  *<;  the  ("  ii:<,  just  as  it  came,  and  it  was  therefore  low 
grade. 

.\]1  tliis  liiis  been  changed  during  the  last  four  years,  in 
accordance  witli  the  ])rogressive  spirit  of  Mr.  John  Stanton, 
the  president,  a  man  to  wliom  the  mining  industry  of  tlie 
Keweenaw  peninsula  owes  an  obligation  which  the  people 
of  tlie  district  are  always  glad  to  acknowledge.  He  lias  lieen 
well  sufiDorted  liy  liis  son,  Mr.  Frank  McM.  Stanton,  who  is 
agent  of  the  Baltic  mine.  The  management  of  this  enter- 
prise has  hroiiglit  tlie  experirnre  of  the  iron  regions  to  boar 
upon  the  prol^lem  outlined  alwno.  introdueing  nuHiifica- 
tions  sviited  t't  the  local  conditions.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr. 
F.  W.  l»ento!i.  the  superiiiteniient.fnr  assistanet-  in  obtain- 
ing a  chnr  nnderstaiiiling  of  the  underground  work  and  for 
manr  other  courtesies. 

Levels  are  lu.f  extend*^!'  n«  narmAv  drifts;  on  the  ci^n- 
trary,  each  drift  isreallya  drift-stope  S  ft.high  and  tlie  full 


84 


Tin-:  COl'l'HR  MIXES 


s-izc  of  tlu'  liKlc-fhaiiiiel,  mi  iiiatUr  lum.'  iriilv  it  nuiy  Ik*;  the 
mininmiu  Ix-iiin  10  ft.  ami  fntiii  tliat  to  a  iiiaxiiiuim  of  (H)  ft. 
Till'  average  width  of  l(Mk'-niattt'r  sent  to  the  iiiill  is,  hy 
approximate  coniputatioii,  25  ft.;  the  st()|»es  themselves  arc 
slightly  wider.  When  the  ilrift-stope  is  two  or  three 
hundred  feet  long,  work  is  stoppeil;  all  the  copjxjr  roek  is 
trammed  out  of  the  drift  alonu  a  temjxirary  track, only  the 
lurger  pieces  of  waste  remaining.  Next,  a  cutting-out 
stope  is  started  near  the  shaft,  leaving  a  pillar  25  ft.  long. 
A  slice  of  7  or  8  ft.  is  taken  out  for  a  lengtli  of  100  ft.,  the 
])o.sition  of  the  iH'rmanent  car-track  is  chostii,  and  large 
pieces  of  waste  are  j^laced  alongsiile,  .so  as  to  form  the 
beginning  of  a  wall.  As  further  material  is  broken  down, 
the  larger  fragments  of  waste  are  put  to  one  side  for  wall- 
l)uilding.  and  the  small  stuff  is  thrown  lM*hind  them.  Then 
dry  walls,  <S  ft.  high,  are  built  up;  they  are  four  feet  thick  at 
the  base,  and  ta|K>r  to  two  or  thrw  feet  at  the  to]>,  that  is, 
S  ft.  above  the  floor  of  the  level.  Eight  feet  of  clear  space 
is  left  between  the  walls  for  the  main  working  level.  At 
i'  r  vak  of  (K)  ft.,  openings  are  left  for  chutes.  The  next 
!)(  ..ion  is  to  bring  in  the  'wall-pieces,'  timl»ers  14  ft  long, 
not  less  than  14  in.  and  not  more  than  20  in.  at  the  small 
end.  Then  lengths  of  hemlock  plank.  2  in.  thick,  are  laid 
along  the  outer  edge  of  the  walls  (that  is,  on  the  side  nearest 
tlie  level),  and  the  'wall-pieces'  are  lifteil  ujion  the  toj)  of 
tliese  so  as  to  stretch  across  the  level  at  intervals  of  5  ft., 
center  to  center.  Thes«  timl)ers  are  lagged  over,  and  the 
chutes  are  built  with  apron  and  lip,  a.s  shown  in  theacc(vn- 
panying  photograph.  A  piece  of  steel  plate  is  spiked  to  viie 
chute  and  Kuides  the  ore  to  the  lip.  the  latter  \ye'\\\ti  him;e<l 
so  that  it  can  be  raised  or  lowered  by  a  lever  consisting  of  a 
hard-wood  pfile  about  16  ft.  long. 

.\11  is  now  ready  for  stoping.  The  first  stope  is  blasted 
with  particular  care,  so  as  not  to  knock  out  any  of  the 
wall-pieces.  .\s  the  lode  i«  broken  ilown  in  the  course  of 
stiipinsr,  the  rock  accumulates  in  the  wake  of  the  nuichine 


■M 


or  LAKE  Sll'EHKiH. 


So 


!- 

ca 
z 

< 

< 


86 


THh  COl'PEH  MINES 


drill,  forming  pil<a  15  or  20  ft.  high.  The  picker.>.  lollow 
close  bel  ind  .iiul  tlirow  tlie  copper  ore  into  the  chutes, 
and  the  waste  into  the  fill.  Small  steel  cars,  lioUling  about 
one  ton,  are  provided  for  the  use  ol  llu  pi.  kers  in  the 
stopes  when,  for  any  reason,  the  chutes  are  not  directly 
accessible.  Such  cars  are  used  not  inly  for  conveying  the 
copper  ore  to  the  chutes,  but  also  for  spreadini;  ilie  waste; 
they  are  made  to  run  on  a  l)road-ji;auge  track,  ami  have  a 
swinging  box  to  permit  side-duiii[)ing.  This  work  of 
handling  the  broken  rock  in  the  stopes  is  being  constantly 
modified.  The  tendency  now  is  to  put  tiie  chutes  further 
apart,  and  to  use  the  small  stope-cars  more.  When  the 
stope  gets  near  the  next  level  overiiead,  which  has  been 
already  worked  out,  it  is  caved.  If  the  waste  picked  out 
is  not  sufficient  for  filling  the  stope,  filling  material  is  blasted 
from  tlie  walls,  or  raises  are  put  in,  and  old  filling  is  run 
down  from  above.  Of  course,  it  would  be  advisable  to 
begin  stoping  at  the  boundary  and  work  backward,  caving 
the  ground  in  retreat;  but  it  is  claimed  that  it  takes  too 
long  to  open  up  the  mine  in  this  way,  and  that  there  woi.ld  be 
no  place  for  the  bi;:  [)ieces  of  waste  broken  in  thedrift-stopo. 
Formerly  it  was  the  custom  in  this  mine  to  use  a  large 
amount  of  timber  in  the  form  of  cribbing  to  line  the  mill- 
holes,  with  a  \iew  to  kcepiiiLr  them  (.pen  as  they  are 
carried  upward  through  the  tilling;  althoi>;h  this  practice 
ciid  not  involve  anything  like  the  ainoiuit  of  timber  re- 
(|uiic(l  by  ordinary  methods,  nevertheless  a  great  deal  of 
material  was  thus  use<l.  Mr.  Denton  einj  lictys  standard  rail- 
road ties  for  lining  that  portion  of  the  mill-hole  near  the 
outlet,  wiiii  round  cribbing  higher  up.  Mut  even  better 
tlian  this,  is  a  more  recent  modification,  now  in  course  of 
trial,  whereby  all  cribbing  i-  di<-card(l;  the  mill-holes 
themselves  l>eini<  built  entirely  of  rock,  and  circular  in 
shajie.  As  far  as  I  could  see  the  rock  is  hard  enough  for 
ihe  imrpose,  tl-  v.'ear  npp^ared  to  !>'■  -light,  and  the  idea 
ous;ht  to  prr»ve  practicpblo. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR 


SI 


a 

H 

i 


X 


M 
O 


■PR 


i^PliW 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION   TEST   CHART 

lANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2| 


1.0 


*-"      |36 

>^       140 


1.25  iU 


12.5 
2.2 

12.0 
1.8 

1.6 


_J  APPLIED  IIVMGE     Inc 

?Is  Rochestc.    New    ''o'h         '*609        uSA 

.^S  1,^161    *82   -  0300  -  Pfione 

^5  (716)   288  -  5989  -  fax 


88 


THE  COI'PrJIt  MINES 


Tlie  obvious  ailvaiitage  of  this  .system  of  'pack  walls'  and 
rock-ribbed  inill-holes  is  the  small  amount  of  material  re- 
quired to  be  brought  into  the  mine;  in  this  respect  the  fill- 
ing system  as  used  in  the  Baltic  resembles  the  caving  method 
of  the  iron  regions;  and  both  of  them  are  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  elaborate  timbering-methods  of  most  pre- 
cious-metal mines.  Not  only  is  there  a  minhnum  of  timber, 
boards,  spikes  and  such  sujiplies  as  are  brought  into  the 
mine,  but  there  is  also  scarcely  any  waste  sent  out,  so  that 
the  shaft  is  kept  free  for  hoisting  copper  ore,  which,  nfter 
a-  is  the  main  purpose  for  which  the  shaft  is  sunk.  Little 
vasto  is  picked  out  in  the  rock-house;  only  6  to  7  per  cent 
of  the  material  hoisted  was  refuse  at  the  time  of  my  visit, 
and  this  came  from  shafts  then  in  course  of  sinking.  From 
the  stopes,  no  waste  whatever  is  taken;  from  the  drifts,  1  to 
2  per  cent  only.  Apart,  however,  from  the  manifest  ad- 
vantages just  empha-sized,  there  is  another  feature-— even 
more  important— in  that  the  ore  can  be  extracted  more 
completely,  the  full  width  of  the  lode  behig  explored  as 
stoping  proceeds, and  the  floor-pillars,  where  rich,  extracted 
by  caving.  Certainly  there  is  some  copper  left  in  the  refuse; 
that  is  granted,  but  as  against  this  loss  is  the  copper  left 
untouched  in  those  mines  in  which  the  stopes  hug  the '  walls ' 
and  where  extraction  is  confined  to  a  uniform  width  of  a 
EUi)posedly  regular  lode.  In  going  through  the  workings 
of  the  Baltic,  one  can  see  that  the  lode  bulges  and  narrows 
at  frequent  intervals;  it  is  apparent  that  the  copper  ex- 
tends outward  from  the  axial  line  of  the  lode  with  an 
irregularity  that  disregards  all  attempts  to  make  boundaries 
by  fixing  attention  upon  any  persistent  planes  of  fracture. 

The  lode  has  a  dip  of  70°  and  ]iermits  of  the  full  aid  of 
gravity.  Cars  carry  from  2.35  to  2.5  tons  each,  the  lower 
figure  being  treated  as  a  minimum.  Two  men  load  a  car 
and  push  it  to  the  shaft.  Electric  traction  is  not  con- 
sidered practicable,  by  reason  of  the  variable  tonnage  from 
any  one  part  of  the  mine.     The  ore  is  trammed  direct  into 


riQ.4^'  •'r.n;i.r-?'Jf->*»'- 


ij£^M~:m^jL':si 


^sp^6^i-y' 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.  S9 

the  skips,  from  cross-cuts  in  the  foot-wall  that  unite  the 
shaft  with  the  levels,  the  car  being  dumped  while  held  in  a 
cradle  of  simple  instruction. 

Work  is  done  mainly  by  day's  pay,  the  irregularity  of 
the  lode  interfering  with  the  adoption  of  the  contract  sys- 
tem, except  for  shaft-sinking  and  some  drifting.  Miners 
average  ^<M)  per  month — 26  shifts  of  10  hours — or  $2.33 
per  shift.  Trammers  average  $54  per  month,  or  $2.08  per 
shift.  Board  is  about  $18  per  month.  As  a  result  of 
method  and  management,  the  working  costs  are  low:  in 
1902,  $1,822  per  ton  of  ore  stamped;  in  1903,  $1,607  per 
toil.  This  includes  all  operating  expenses  on  the  spot  and 
taxes;  it  excludes  smelting,  and  marketing  of  the  copper, 
and  New  York  office  expenses,  all  of  which  together  would 
come  to  abo'.t  1.3  cents  per  lb.  of  refined  copper.  Meas- 
ured in  this  way,  the  working  cost  was  7.96c.  in  1902,  and 
7.5c.  in  1903;  add  1.3c.  and  you  have  the  total  cost  per  lb. 
of  refined  copper.  The  rock  stamped  yielded  22.84  lb. 
refined  copper  per  ton  in  1902,  and  21.58  lb.  in  1903. 

The  total  cost,  to  be  compared  with  timbering  as  con- 
ducted in  other  mines,  amounted,  respectively  to  8.67  and 
7.97c.  per  ton  during  the  two  years  quoted.     Details  are: 

Cost  per  ton  of  r->ck  stamped. 

Description.  1002.  190.3 

Centfi.  Cents. 

Timbermen 6.  4.1 

Stope  fillinj:,  extra  w.aste  blasted  especially 

for  this  purpose Xot  secreirated.  0. 3.5 

Wall  building 1.4  1 .  62 

Timber,  inclusive  of  shafts  and  levels 1.27  l.fiO 

Tot.ll 8.67  7.97 

It  is  difficult  to  separate  trammers  from  pickers,  becavi.se 
the  former  arc  exjiected  to  pick  out  waste  whenever  possi- 
ble. The  labor  of  tramming  cost  21.5c.  and  17.4c.  re- 
spectively during  1902  and  1903,  while  picking  labor 
amounted  to  11.5  and  13.8,  respectively.  Further  figures 
of  interest  follow;  they  are  arranged  with  reference  to  com- 


,^!iEXi-^-f-%^yy^"rjB.--T  ^-^-^1EWE«:«. ., 


«._ 


':.x;-^^«?.'3e 


90  THE  COPPER  MIXES 

paring  tlieiu  with  similar  costs  under  different  systems  of 
mining  elsewhere : 

ll>02.  1903. 

Ci'iits.  Cents. 

Minins,  inclu<iin<;  miners  i'ud  explosives  only 43.1'0  35.80 

Trinitniiie;  labor,   picking   hibor,    tiinberini; 

labor  and  supplies 41 .07  39. 17 

Itock-house ',».S5  9. OS 

Hoistinj; 10  70  .i.70 

Compressor  and  air  drills  (labor,  fuel  and  sup- 
plies, repairing  machines  and  sharpening;) .             9 .80  0 .  70 

Surface  expense 3 .  30  1.10 

General  expense 5.90  -t.50 

All  other  expenses  at  the  nune-' 10.00  S.20 

MillinR  and  transportation  to  mill 3S.59  -13.70 

Taxes 9.30  C.80 

Total  eost^'  per  ton,  beimr  the  runninj;  ex- 
pense at  the  mine .SI. 8231       SI. 0075 

Tons  .stamped 275,175        490,237 

The  foregoing  descriptions  of  the  mining  methods  cm- 
ployed  in  the  Quincy,  Atlantic,  Wolverine  and  Baltic  mines 
afford  a  gootl  idea  of  current  practice  in  the  Lake  Superior 
copper  region.  It  is  true  that  data  covering  tlie  methods 
used  in  the  Calumet  «t  Ilecla  and  Tamarack,  would  render 
my  account  nuich  more  complete;  but,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  companies  operating  these  two  big  mines  refuse 
admittance  to  visiting  engineers,  tliere  was  no  opportunity 
for  e.vtending  my  observations  to  the  deepest  workings  in 
the  district.  However,  by  courtesy  of  .Mr.  W.  E.  Parnall, 
the  superintendent  of  the  Tamarack,  I  atn  enabled  to  add  a 
drawing  illustrating  the  maimer  in  which  Tamaraclc  No.  2 
shaft  is  being  re-timliercd.  (See  page  92.)  The  original  set 
of  timbers  is  supported  by  a  new  outer  set,  which  can  take 
the  pressure  of  tlie  ground  without  twisting  the  timbers  of 
the  working  shaft.  There  is  a  10-in.  space  between  the  two 
sets,  a  bearer  from  every  fovirth  outer  set  ser\  ing  to  support 
the  inside  timbering.  The  end-pieces  of  the  outer  set  are 
anchored  into  the  enclosing  rock.     The  timbering  of  the 

■'.Made  up  of  captains'  and  .sliift-bosses' salaries,  track-layinjr, 
pumpins,  lighting  undi  rounil,  and  various  supplies  not  included 
in  other  items. 


^ir?mt'~^mk'^''.^mr4^m^i:smg'^-M'M^^^ 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


91 


outer  set  is  under  the  inner,  so  that  the  former  can  becon-g 
dcfonned  without  interfering  with  the  protection  given  to 
the  working  shaft.  Occasional  'studdles'  are  placed  op- 
posite the  dividing  pieces.  A  thickness  of  rock  equal  to 
three  feet  was  removed  all  around  the  old  shaft,  in  order  to 
permit  of  this  re-timbering,  this  excavation  being  eqv!-a- 
lent  to  the  rock  removed  in  sinking  the  old  shaft.  No.  2 
shaft  is  4,320  ft.  deep.  Until  the  end  of  1903,  No.  5  shaft, 
with  a  depth  of  4,938  ft.,  was  tiie  most  profound  metal- 
mine  opening  in  the  world;  but  the  resumption  of  sinking 
in  No.  3  has  carried  that  shaft  to  a  depth— up  to  date— of 
5,027  ft  The  Red  Jacket  shaft  of  the  Calumet  &  Hecla  is 
4,890  ft.  in  vertical  depth;  it  cut  the  lode  at  the  51st 
level,  and  is  used  only  for  working  ground  below  the  57th 
level.  The  levels  are  60  ft.  apart,  vertically,  on  a  lode 
with  a  38°  dip;  but  stations  are  cut  only  for  every  three 
lifts,  or  180  ft.  apart.  The  product  of  the  stopes  is  lowered 
in  cars,  which  travel  along  an  incline  connecting  three 
levels;  the  loaded  car  stands  upon  a  platform  which  de- 
scends, and  in  its  descent  pulls  up  the  empty  car.  On  the 
level,  the  cars  are  trammed  to  the  vertical  shaft,  and  dis- 
charge into  a  pocket  which  lif)lds  just  the  amount— three 
cars — required  for  a  skip-load. 

Reverting  to  the  general  methods  of  mining,  it  can  be 
said  that  the  Atlantic  lode  is  of  unusual  regularity,  both  as 
regards  width  and  metal  content;  the  copper  app.ars  to  be 
fairly  well  confined  within  recognized  boundaries;  it  is 
disseminated  more  uniformly  than  usual,  and  there  is  no 
mass  copper  to  hinder— while  enriching- the  rapid  extrac- 
tion; the  lode  favors  cheap  stoping,  by  reason  of  a  con- 
venient dip  and  the  occurrence  of  plentiful  cross-fractures. 
Therefore,  on  the  whole,  conditions,  as  controlled  by  the 
Width,  breaking  and  composition  of  the  copper-bearing 
rock,  favor  the  carrying  out  of  the  contract  system,  the 
elimination  of  sorting,  and  rapidity  of  extraction.  This  is 
also  true  of  the  Wolverine.    The  criticism  has  been  made 


m^i^'mmci^s^mkm 


■^s^vjreifei^^^ 


02 


THE  COPPER  .\ji.\ES 


RE-TIMBERING  So.  3,  SHAFT,  TAMARACK. 


,=^'s^'^?r>lB^^A:j«ff^i;s:*^»- ;jr 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


03 


i 


■^■m^^mk^w^i^' 


94 


THE  rOPl'LK  MINKS 


that  the  Atlantic  method  left  a  large  amount  of  ground 
under  the  successive  levels;  but,  having  regard  to  the 
poorness  of  the  rock  and  the  consequent  small  quantity  of 
copper  buried  in  such  floor-pillars,  it  appears  that  the  cost 
of  the  extra  timbering,  required  to  extract  this  additional 
10  or  15  ft.  of  dangerous  ground,  would  exceed  the  value  of 

e  copper  secured, 
n  the  Baltic  method  no  such  pillars  are  left,  and  the  ex- 
.  loration  of  the  lode  is  carried  beyond  the  apparent  walls 
into  the  outer  country,  wherever  the  copper  is  found  to  ex- 
tend. The  bulges,  and  other  irrpjrularities  of  copper  dis- 
tribution which  characterize  the  Baltic  lode,  render  the 
adoption  of  the  Atlantic  method  inadvisable.  In  fact,  the 
adaptation  of  method  to  conditions  fulfils  the  essence  of 
practical  mining.  In  the  adjoining  property,  the  Champion, 
a  different  system  has  obtained.  An  arch  8  ft.  thick  is  left 
above  each  main  level,  mill-holes  being  cut  at  interv-als  of 
25  to  30  ft.;  the  stopes  are  started  al.ove  this  arch,  the 
miners  standing  upon  the  rock,  as  they  break  it,  until  the 
next  level  o^  crhead  is  reached ;  no  floor-pillar  is  left,  because 
this  is  rendered  tmnecessary  by  tiie  roof-arch.  This 
method  is  being  abandoned,  for  several rea*""  ■  '^''hen  the 
broken  stuff  is  withdrawn  from  the  stop  •    '  ;    ring  is 

apt  to  break  and  mix  with  the  mill-ro  '  ver,  the 

arches  left  behind  are  likely  to  prove  ii>a(u  'at.,  lor  the 
support  of  the  weight  of  superincumbent  gjouii  ^  when  the 
mine  becomes  deep,  and  their  collap.'ie  might  induce  a  creep 
fatal  to  the  pillars  protecting  the  shaft  itself. 

In  one  respect  the  system  of  stoping  in  vogue  is  open  to 
criticism.  That  part  of  tl  .  lode  which  it  is  profitable  to 
extract,  occurs  usually  in  a  body  of  imusual  length  and 
persistence,  requiring  long  levels  and  deep  shafts.  Fre- 
quently the  bods  of  amygdaloid  are  stoped  the  full  length 
of  the  company's  property,  from  boundary  to  boundary. 
Nevertheless,  the  extraction  proceeds  from  the  shaft 
outward,  instead  of  the  reverse.     By  driving  the  main 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


95 


< 


z 


z 

o 


96 


THE  COl'l'ER  MINKS 


levels  to  tlio  boundary  or  to  the  known  limit  of  the  body 
of  copper  rock,  and  then  stoping  backward  toward  the 
shaft,  the  ground  could  be  allowed  to  cave;  the  track  could 
be  taken  up;  the  interruptions  to  trafhc  due  to  intervening 
Slopes  would  be  avoided;  and,  at  the  same  tii  .",  communi- 
cation, when  established  betvveea  two  levels,  at  those  ends- 
farthest  from  the  shaft,  would  stimulate  ventilation.  At 
the  Atlantic  it  was  stated  that  such  a  plan  would  render  a 
level  II  n-productive  until  its  full  length  had  Ijeen  driven; 
but,  surely,  in  a  mine  with  thirty  working  faces,  one  can  be 
spared  for  a  time  by  increasing  the  extraction  at  some  other 
place.  Once  the  drift  is  complete<l,  the  extraction  at  any 
single  level  ought  to  be  more  rapid  if  commenced  at  the  end 
farthest  from  the  shaft.  In  the  Calumet  &  Hecla,  tlie 
drifts  are  extended  from  shaft  to  shaft,  stoping  being  started 
midway  and  extended  in  both  directions  simultaneously. 
This  represents  the  same  idea.  It  certainly  is  worth  while 
for  the  mine  managers,  especially  ia  young  mines  which 
promise  to  extend  to  a  (  ith  of  a  mile,  and  for  a  distance  of 
as  much  a«  two  miles,  to  ponder  over  this  problem,  the 
proper  solution  of  which  in  each  ra.se  must  play  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  the  economics  of  mining. 


I 


^^ 


mAm 


OF  LAKE  SVI'KUIOH. 


97 


MASS  FOUND   IX  AN    lENT  WORKINGS 


'^^im4 


X. — .Mas>  Coi'I'KH. 


It  is  Ix-'liuvcd  liy  many  ix'uplc  UMially  woU  iiit'oniicd.tluvt 
in  the  iiiinesof  tlio  Lake  .Siipcrior  logioM  there  aie  Ijodies  of 
iiietullic  coppiTso  larjre  that  it  has  been  found  impracticable 
to  extract  tiiem.  I  remenila-r  beinn  t"l''  wrioii-ly  seven 
years  a^o  tliat  in  the  Michipicoten  ilistrict,  on  the  mtrtli 
shore,  tliere  were  rich  copper  lodes  tha*  'vere  not  profitable 
because  the  metal  occnrretl  in  mass«>s  so  luijfe  that  they 
e(Jiild  not  be  mined  successfully.  Similar  statements 
appear  freciuently  in  popular  acco\uits  of  the  copi)er  coun- 
try. But  recent  investigation  of  this  interestinjj  matter 
eiial)les  nie  now  to  dissipate  a  fallacy  which  has  retain"d  a 
curiously  sustained  vitality  since  the  days  of  Alexander 
Henrj'  and  Douglass  Houghton. 

The  white  men  who  first  crossed  the  lake  and  penetrated 
the  forests  of  the  peninsula,  found  evidence  of  earlier 
attempts  to  extract  the  copper.  We  know  that  the  Indians 
worked  the  metal  that  outcropped  luassivcly  at  many 
localities;  and  there  are  those  who  maintain  that  this  was 
also  done  by  an  earlier  race  of  higher  capacities  long 
since  vanished.  Testimony  to  their  effort  Is  shown  by  the 
battered  fragments  of  <  ipper  dug  out  of  old  abandoned 
workings.  Such  is  the  one  illustrated  on  the  preceding 
page;  this  weighed  three  tons,  and  was  taken  from 
a  pit  1G.5  ft.  deep  at  McCargo  Cove,  on  Isle  Royale;  it 
exhibits  the  marks  of  stone  hammers  or  hatchets.  There  is 
good  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Indians  built  fires  around 
the  masses  of  copper  which  were  too  large  to  be  removed; 
and  that  after  removing  the  adhering  rock,  loosened  tlu-ough 
the  effect  of  the  heat,  they  separated  portions  with  their 
hatchets  by  ])()unding  the  co))per  into  waves,  as  shown  in 
the  illustration,  until  it  was  finally  forced  apart  in  small 
fragments.  Furthermore,  the  reports  of  the  early  roi/agcurs 
made  mention  of  the  celebrated  'copper  rock,'  an  immense 


fOl'l'KH  MISES. 


09 


boulder  of  .uetal  fuuiulou  tl.e  ri«hil,a„k  of  M,eUt.to,,aK.,n 
nv.'r;  it  vas  visitcl  l,y  ,h,.  first  explorrrH  an.l  travelers 
wl.otest.he.l  that  thereuas  ....thing  like  it  anvulu-re  i„  tlie 
^v"rl.l  IhH  .na.s  woiKhe.l  a!:o..t  f,.ur  to...s;  it  a,,,K.«re,l  to 
H-  out  of  place,  an.l  n.ay  have  bee,,  nu.ve.l.  I.v  the  I,.,|ian« 
l..:.s  far  from  ti.eoutcrop  of  the  Mu.e^ota  lo.le.a,list«„ce  of 
Uso  "Hies  only  It  v,.  •,...ecl  dou„  the  river  ou  a  raft  hy 
Juhus  I.J.lre.l  u.  If  .,.  village  of  Ontonagon,  to  b^ 

smed  subsequent!..         ,  L'nited  .States  C.overnn.ent  and 
JipM  to  Washing  ..,  wliere  it  can  now  !«,  ..oen  at  the 
N.utL.sonmn  In>titation.    (Jn  inquiry  at  the  Sn.ith.soniau 
ln.st.tution,  I  was  informed  that  this  Ontonagon  iK.ulder 
as  It  now  stands  in  the  National  Museum,  weighs  fi  .50,i 
P-uub.     From  a  pamphlet  by  Mr.  Charles  Moore,  enti'tknl 
.Me  Ontonagon  (.'opper  Bowlder  in  the  U.  S    National 
Museum.'  and  issued  by  the  Govenmunt  printing  oftio,.  at 
Wi«h.ngton   in    1897,   I   extracted    the    foil,  ving   data 
Acconimg  to  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  a   n, ember  of  the 
expedition  that  endeavored  to  bring  it  away,  the  gn-at^-t 
lenrth  of  the  .na.s  was  3  feet  8  inches,  and  its  greatest  width 
3  feet  4  inches.    He  gave  a  sketch  of  tlie  locality,  which  is 
on  m  the  frontispiece.     The  final  effort  to  remove  this 
lelily  lump  of  metal  is  described  thus :  "  It  took  a  week 
.._  the  party  of  21  ,>ersons  to  get  the  rock  up  the  50-foot 
hill  near  the  river;  then  they  cut  Mmbers  and  made  a  stout 
vvooden  railway  track,  place,l  the  rock  on  the  car    and 
moved  It  with  capstan  and  chains  a.s  hoiis,^  are  moved 
I'or  four  miles  and  a  half,  over  hills  6()0  ft.  high,  through 
va  leys  and  deep  ravines;  througli  thick  forests  where  the 
path  had  to  be  cut;  through  tangled  underbrush,  the  home 
of  pestiferous  mosquitoes,  this  railway  wa.s  l.^id  and  the 
copper  bomder  was  traasported;  and  when  at  last  the  rock 
was  lowered  to  the  main  stream,  nature  smiL.,;  on  the  l.ibo,-s 
of  the  workmen  by  sending  a  freshet  to  carry  their  heavily- 
lacjen  boat  oyer  the  lower  rapids  and  down  to  the  lake  " 
The  Government  paid  $.5,664.98  to  Julius  Eldred  and  .sons 


'^"/^ 


il 


100  ^''f^^  COPPER  MINES 

,.vcs  the  following  intere^g  ijl^'^Xtmuel  O.  Knapp, 

"Durinc  the  w  ntor  of  18-i(-4S,  Mr.  ndiiiin.i  ^  1 1 

the  ag        of  the  .Minesota  nunc,  observed  on  the  present 
he  ^^^'^fl  .^^^   ^   .^jrious  depression  ni  the  soil, 

location  of  tliat    nine   a  .lisintecrration  of  a  vein, 

caused,  as  he  -"J-^"-^' ^^,^t  "e  n^^  a  cavern,  the 
Following  up  these  -^^^^'.^'^'"'''^^llJ  ,,,  the  rubbish, 
home  of  several  porcupines.  On  c  e  ""-  » 
he  found  many  stone  hanuners;  and,  ^;^l^P;;^°^3;^  '"^^^^ 
came  ui-  a  a  mass  of  native  copper  10  ft.  long  3  tt  ^  c  , 
a^d  ne  u-ly  2  ft.  thick.  Its  weight  was  more  than  6  tons 
T^  mi  was  found  resting  upon  billets  of  oak  suppor^d  l^ 
.leLrs  of  the  same  wood;  there  were  three  couse  o 
iStsandtwocours.<..ec^J^.-W^^^^^ 

:ti;^:r:;s;:en;Ui^tearthUed^ 

lloA  that    the   early  nun...  were  -«>"-  ;;  ^^^    ,^ 
orocess  used  with  effect  by  their  -uccessors.    1  h  s  fragment 
had  been  pounded  until  every  projection  was  l,roken  off^ 
and  then  ha.l  been  loft,  when  and  for  what  reas.m  is  still 
unklrn    From  sinnlar  pits  on  the  same  location  came   en 
do        of  ancient  hanuners,  one  of   which  weighed  .M 
noiUK^  and  was  fitted  with  two  grooves  for  a  double  haiuUe. 
C    ^re  also  found  a  copper  gad.  a  copper  ch.-l  w,h  a 
nnket  in  which  were  the  remains  of  a  copper  handle,  and 
•;:attrof  Iden  bailing  bowls.    At  the  Mesnard  mme, 
n  rnsr'lfVJO.     H'vrl  of  V.  S.  .\-i.tional  Museum,  1895. 


^:^j 


y^A-.y^^V' 


OF  LAKE  SUPEmOR. 


101 


.in  1862,  was  found  an  18-ton  boulder  that  the  'ancient 
miners' had  moved  48  ft.  from  its  original  bed." 

The  large  bodies  of  metallic  copper  found  in  the  lodes  of 
Lake  Superior  are  known  as  'mass.'     The  nnnes  which  fjrst 
established  the  fame  of  this  region,  such  as    he  Clifi, 
Phoenix,  Central,  Minesota,  and  National,  were  a  1  charac- 
terized by  the  occurrence  of   'n.ass.'     These  chunks  oi 
copper  were  found  near  the  surface,  and  for  years  they  con- 
tinued to  be  encountered  underground  in  great  quantity. 
Such  mines  required  but  little  capital;  they  neoded  chiefly 
the  labor  of  cutting  the  metal  and  of  hoisting  it  to  daylight. 
'M;,ss  mining,'   therefore,   characterized  the  early  days. 
Had  the  Calumet  &  Hecla,  which  has  always  yielded  a 
strictly  stamp-mill  product,  been  discovered  in  the  hrst 
decade  of  development,  it  probably  would  have  been  a 
failure     The  .liscovery  of  the  Calumet  conglomerate  came 
when  the  rudiments  of  mining  had  been  learned  and  when 
the  'mass'  mines  were  approaching  exhaustion. 

Two-thirds  of  the  output  of  the  Cliff  mine  was  in  the  form 
of  masses;  some  of  them  yielded  from  100  to  150  tons  and 
as  late  as  1875  one  of  40  tons  was  taken  out."     These 
irre-rular  bodies  of  metal  require  special  mmmg  methods, 
for  it  is  impossible  to  drill  into  them  or  to  use  picks  m  the 
ordinarv  wav.     Professor  Blake  has  described  the  usual 
practice  in  words  that  I  cannot  improve:  "The  miner  picks 
out  or  excavates  a  passage  or  chamber  upon  one  side  of  the 
mass  laving  it  bare  as  far  as  possible  over  its  whole  surface. 
It  is  usuallv  firmly  held  by  its  close  union  with  the  vein- 
stuff  or  bvVs  irregular  projections  above,  below  and  at  the 
end     If  it  cannot  be  dislodged  by  levers,  the  excavation  of  a 
chamber  is  commenced  behind  the  mass,  and  this  excava- 
tion is  made  large  enough  to  receive  from  5  to  20  or  more 
ke-s  of  pow.ler.    Bags  of  san.l  are  used  for  tamping   and 
the  drift  is  closed  up  by  a  barricade  of  refuse  and  loose  dirt. 

■^nV^pTBlnke,  Transactions  American  Institute  Mining  Engineers 
Vol.  IV.  p.  110. 


w 


1()2 


Tin-:  COri'KH  ML\KS 


Reft'i«MK"('  is  iiiado  to  this  iiiotiuKl  in  the  description  of  tiie 
effort  wiiicii  was  made  to  extricate  tiie  fjreat  mass  foimd 
ill  tlie  old  .Miiiesota  mine. 

Tiie  .Miiiesota  mine,  in  the  Ontonagon  ilistrict,  was  eele- 
hrated  for  large  masses.  The  largest  wa.s found  in  1857;  its 
greatest  lengtli  was  40  ft.,  its  greatest  hreai;  h  IS. 5  ft.,  and 
its  greatest  tiiickncss  S.5  ft.  Tlie  mean  width  was  12.5  ft., 
and  the  mean  tliickness  4  ft.  Twenty  men  lal)ored  15 
(iiontlis  to  remove  it  from  tlie  rock;  .some  of  the  cuts  had  a 
face  of  1()  .SI],  ft.,  and  the  ciittiiig-up  yielded  27  tons  of 
copper  cliips.  The  weigiit  was  estimated  at  500  tons,"'  hut 
I  shall  have  more  to  say  ahoiit  this  directly. 

The  circumstances  of  this  work  are  told  grajihically  hy 
Ceo.  1).  lOmerson,  whose  statement  is  (pioted  in  "Tlie 
Mineral  Statistics  of  .Michigan'  for  tiie  year  IS.SO.  "They 
uncov(M-<>d  a  series  of  masses  with  an  I'astward  iiiciinatioii 
for  the  length  of  70  to  SO  ft.,  and  going  out  of  sight  Ixitli 
above  and  below.  It  was  at  once  apparent  that  they  iiad 
something  very  valuable,  but  tliey  had  no  conception  of  the 
immense  thing  which  a  few  days'  work  disclosed.  .\t  one 
convenient  point  they  broke  auay  behind  the  copper  so  as 
to  get  in  a  sand  blast  of  five  or  six  kegs  of  powder.  They 
stripped  the  mass  further,  and  again  fired  without  result. 
.\gaiii  tliey  fired  nine  kegs  of  i-owder.  and  the  mass  remained 
uiimo\ed.  lireaking  the  rock  around  for  a  considerable 
distance.  IS  keus  of  powder  w(>re  shot  off  without  (>ff(>ct. 
and  again  22  kei;s,  and  the  cop|>er  entirely  undisturbed  at 
any  ])oint.  .\  further  clearing.  25  kegs  were  shot  off 
under  the  co])pi  i ,  and  it  was  thought  with  sfinie  effect. 
But  a  final  blast  of  .SO  kegs,  or  750  lb.,  was  securely  tamped 
beneath  tiie  mass  and  lired.  .\s  soon  as  the  smoke  cleared 
awa\"  a  mass  of  co])))er  45  ft,  long  and  '-i  to  5  ft.  in  tliicknes.«. 
apparently  very  ])ure.  ami  which  will  probably  weigh  .'500 
tons,  had  been  shot  out  and  was  ready  for  cutting  tip.  The 
blast  had  torn  the  immense  body  from  its  bed  without 

-■'  'Mineral  Statistics  of  Miclti;:aM,'  ISSO,  p.  70. 


•il 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


103 


exhibiting  a  sign  of  breaking  or  bending  in  any  place, 
so  great  was  its  tliici<ness  and  strengtii.  It  was  torn 
off  from  otlier  masses,  wiiich  still  remain  in  the  solid 
rock." 

Tliey  had  exploded  110  kegs,  or  2,750  lb.  powder!  One 
migtit  remark  that,  had  the  copper  proved  less  resisting  to 
the  violent  efforts  of  these  miners,  it  would  not  have  pos- 
sessed the  value  in  art  and  industry  which  we  accord  to  it. 
The  tenacity  of  the  metal,  as  recognizetl  by  the.se  workers 
underground,  may  have  hindered  its  easy  partition,  but  it 
certainly  is  r-ne  of  the  qualities  for  which  it  conmiands  a 
price  when  it  reaches  the  surface.  However,  the  mass, 
whose  removal  is  told  so  well  in  the  above  (|uotation,  was 
undoubtedly  the  largest  single  body  of  metallic  copper  ever 
mined.  Its  weight  has  been  variously  stated  m  many 
reports  as  having  been  .")()(),  .j3(),  or  oS.j  tons.  Quite  recently, 
however,  certain  papers  co\'ering  the  business  of  the  Mine- 
sota  mine  were  found  by  Mr.  J^anuiel  Brady,  the  manager 
of  the  Michigan  mine,  whicli  is  the  successor  of  the  old 
Minesota.  and  the  data  therein  contained  prov(>  t  ::;  he 
celebrated  mass  weighed  420  tons.'"  These  bodies  of  co))per 
are  extremely  irregular  in  thickness;  they  are  ragged  in 
form  and  straggle  through  the  lode  until  they  nearly 
connect  with  other  monstrous  miggets.  Such  was  the 
character  of  the  series  of  masses  encountered  in  the  Bay 
State  mine,  now  the  Phoenix,  forty  years  ago.  These  aggre- 
gated some  1)00  tons;  but  they  were  botiies,  none  of  which 
singly  'xceeded  200  tons,  comuTted  by  strings  of  metal. 
Therefore,  tiie  fact  remains  that  420  tons  is  the  largest 
single  mass  of  native  co]iper  recordeil  in  the  history  of 
mining. 

The  practice  then  was,  and  still  is,  to  cut  the  mass 
with  cape  chisels  having  a  \-m.  bit,  the  successive  chips 


^'Tliis  iiiform.itioii  is  pont.iined  in  .1  letter  d.ited  October  I?,  1S65, 
.iddressed  by  Capt.  William  Harris,  nianairer  of  the  mine,  to  tlie 
secretary  of  the  cr     •   .  ly,  S.  M.  Pond. 


104 


Till-:  COPPER  MIXES 


being  about  J  in.  tliick.  The  narrow  strips  obtained  from 
this  operation,  when  made  l)y  sl\ilifiil  operators,  and  in  the 
absence  of  any  Haw  or  inchidod  roclc  aionji  tiie  course  of  the 
chisel,  are  taken  in  one  cut  through  the  entire  'mass.' 
The  earlier  method  was  tr  carry  the  ehiji  about  J  in.  thick, 
IS  stated,  and  of  ecjual  thickness  on  both  sides:  but  later 
this  was  changed  to  a  more  rajiiil  way,  the  chijjs  thinning  to 
an  edge  and  alternating,  as  is  usual  with  a  cutting  made  by 
a  chisel  of  this  kind,  the  process  being  similar  to  the  driving 
of  a  key-way.  The  narrow  strips  obtained  from  this  oj)er.i- 
tion  are  only  about  half  the  length  of  the  groove  which 
yieldetl  tliein,  because  the  metal  V)ecomes  pressed  together 
and  thickened  by  the  blows  of  the  cutters.  Certain  men 
made  a  s])ecia)ty  of  this  work  and  became  expert,  so  as  to 
cut  a  sijiuire  foot  of  surface  per  shift;  this  meant  that  one 
man  held  the  chisel  and  guided  it  along  the  line  of  cut, 
while  two  others  struck  the  chisel  alternately  with  sledge- 
liannners.  The  cost  averagetl  812  to  .?14  per  sq.  ft. 
Nowadays,  when  the  cutters  are  not  often  needed  and  special 
skill  is  not  available,  the  cost  (when  done  by  hand)  is 
greater.  At  tlie  Michigan  mine  the  pneumatic  hannner 
has  been  used  recently  for  citting  mass,  and  with  success. 
Mr.  Urady  informs  me  that  tlie  actual  cost  of  cutting  two 
masses  in  this  mine,  (hiring  the  current  year,  was  .?.3.1.")  per 
sq,  ft.,  exclusive  of  power.  The  cost  of  cutting  the  420-ton 
mass.  |>reviously  di'scribed,  apji'MU's,  acconling  to  a  letter 
of  Ca])t.  William  Harris,  bearing  date  of  October  3,  ISfw, 
to  have  Ix-en  .S12  ])er  square  foot. 

At  the  (^uiiicy  some  masses  have  been  found  in  recent 
years,  but  no  big  ones.  Five  or  six  tons  is  the  limit  for 
convenient  handling,  but,  of  course,  this  will  de|iend 
largely  u|)on  ilic  shajie  of  tlie  mass.  Larger  bodies  are  cut 
so  as  to  yield  ]iieces  suitable  for  tranuning  and  lioisting. 
The  time  taken  in  the  cutting  dei)ends  noon  the  shape; 
sometimes  a  narrow  neck  cfinnects  two  outlying  portions, 
in  which  case  the  division  is  facilitated.    The  jjhotogi'aph  on 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOh 


105 


O 

!/> 

73 
< 

u 
c 

o 

X 
tn 

a; 

w 
a. 
a. 

c 


i 


^PMH^ 


lOO 


THE  COl'l'ER  MIXES 


the  upposii    page  illu.stratc:--  the  cutting  of  a  mass  weigh- 
ing six  tons. 

It  will  be  obvious  that  masses  of  portable  size  are  less 
expensive  to  extract  than  the  very  big  ones;  or,  to  put  it 
in  another  way  six  lumps  of  5  tons  each  and  needing  no 
cutting,  will  yield  more  profit  than  one  of  30  tons,  which 
may  require  to  be  c   ,  into  five  or  six  portions.     It  is  said 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  Minesota  mine  did  not  leave  nuich 
nf  a  margin  for  profit,  for  this  reason;   and  it  is  obvious, 
from  the  description  already  given,  that  a  good  deal  of  vain 
effort  was  expended  in  extricating  that  elephantine  chunk; 
init  the  wages  of  even  the  20  n.en  mentioned,  who  worked 
lo  months  to  remove  it,  would  aggregate  only  $18,000  at 
the  most,  and  against  this  there  would  be  the  420  tons  of 
copper;  this  would  yield  about  79  per  ce.  ,  refined  copper, 
or  324.17  tons,  which,  at  8400  per  ton,  net  ca.sh  on  de- 
livery, after  deducting  cost  of  transport,  conversion  and 
sale,  would  yield  a  total  of  .?129,66S,"'  so  that  the  mining 
cost  re?)rescnts  only  14  per  cent  of  ;hc  value  realized.     As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  chips  obtained  in  cutting  arc  usually 
enough  to  jiay  for  the  cost  of  the  operation      The  27  tens 
of  chips  taken  from  the  .Minesota  ma.ss  were  worth,  under 
the  conditions  and  prices  of  1857,  not  less  than  88,500; 
and  it  is  certain  that  the  cost  of  extracting  this  particular 
mass  was  extraordinary,  on  acromit  of  its  size  and  the 
difliculiy  of  getting  it  out  of  the  lode.     It  can  be  asserted 
confidently  that  no  one  in  the  Lake  .Superior  comitry  is 
afraid  to  encounter  mass  cojiper  for  fear  it  should  prove 
improfitable ! 

Incidentally,  it  will  be  interesting  to  refer  to  the  occur- 
rence of  native  silver.  The  largest  piece  of  pure  silver 
found  within  the  last  few  years  was  in  the  Mass  mine,  and 
it  weighed  12  lb.     This  piece  formed  part  of  the  Michigan 

;» In  ni.qkins  this  ostim.-ite  I  .^m  siiifipci  bv  tlic  report  of  the  X.itional 
-Miniiii:  Conip.Tiiy,  the  neighbor  of  tiie  Minesota,  published  in  The 
Mtnuiq  Magazine,  Deornibor,  \Rn7. 


'M-^*^^-^- 


HtMWS^^S^ 


OF  LAKE  SI'I'EHIOH.  107 

Miim.nil  exhibit  at  St.  Lo-is.  In  In?.}  a  small  1„  v  while 
•cobbinjt-  or  s^lwtinjr  bits  „f  cnpi,,.,-  n.ck  in  the  <hi.np  of 
the  national  i  .ine,  at  Rockland,  broke,  from  a  piece  of 
eon;;lomerate.  a  lump  weiKhiiift  h;  1|,.  Capt.  J.  C.  Thomas, 
now  at  the  Michigan  mine,  ami  formerly  at  the  Cliff,  states 
that  he  has  seen  pieces  of  practically  pure  metal  weifihing 


rUTTlNT,   .\  MASS      ULINCV  MINE. 

fn'>"  25  to  ;{0  lb.  taken  fn.m  the  Cliff  mine,  as  much  as 
SoOO  \v(,rth  beiufi-  e.xtracte.l  in  a  single  night  bv  the  iro„ 
who  presumably  di.l  not  report  the  fact  to  "the  office 
.Many  thousand  dollars  have  been  taken  from  the  mines  of 
Lake  Sui)erior  in  the  form  of  silver  secreted  bv  workmen 
not  to  mention  the  specimens  which  now  enric'h  museums 
all  over  the  world. 


/ 


X I .— EXPLOHATIUX. 

The  majw  showing  the  holdings  of  the  different  com- 
panies in  the  Lake  Superior  region,  exhibit  none  of  that 
confusing  interpenetration  of  claims  which  characterizes 
tlie  mining  districts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  That  iniqui- 
tous principle  represented  by  "the  law  of  the  apex"  is  not 
known;  acreage  replaces  apex  rigiits;  and  simi)licity  of 
tenure  obviates  the  interminable  litigation  which  seems  to 
be  the  necessary  baptism  of  a  rich  mine  in  Montana  or 
Colorado. 

Any  map  of  tiie  region  (as,  for  instance,  that  of  tiie 
companies  on  the    South    Range,  on  the  next  page)  ex- 
hibits tiie  checkered  squares  of  the  sections  into  which  each 
township  is  subdivitlod.    There  are  36  sections  to  a  to\\n- 
ship;   the  latter  is  six  miles  square,  so  that  each  section 
represents  040  acres,  further  subdivision  being  made  intt. 
quarter-sections  of  100  acres,  and  these  again  into  40-acre 
tracts.     The  boundary  lines  carry  mineral  rights  vertically 
downward,  witiiout  restriction  of  any  kind.    The  ownership 
of  the  land  near  the  copper  mines  has  pa.ssed  out  of  the 
liands  of  the  original  owner,  the  Federal  Government;  it  is 
now  held  by  uidividuals.  where  not  consolidated  into'com- 
pany  holdings,  there  being  one  exception  in  the  case  of  the 
St.  Jfary's  Canal  Mineral  Land  Company,  which,  bv  reason 
of  building  the  great  waterway  of  the  Lakes  through  the 
Sault  Ste.  :\raric,  was  given  a  grant  of  land,  a  large  portion 
of  which  was  selected  so  as  to  cover  that  part  of  the  copper 
belt  not  already  pre-empted.     It  is  on  this  territory  that 
those  discoveries  were  made  which  led  to  the  making  of  the 
mines  on  the  South  Range.     Another  exceptional  land- 
owner is  the  public  school;  by  State  law,  every  Section  16 
was  set  aside  as  the  property  of  the  public  schools   and 
It  IS  a  matter  of  regret  thai  no  Section  16  has  as  yet  proved 
to  be  the  site  of  a  rich  mineial  (kvc  i.ipment. 


COPPER  MINES. 


100 


110 


Tin-:  ( (ii'i'iiii  Mi\/:s 


Till-  laft  that  tlu-  cxtciLHiuii  in  lU-ptli  of  tlio  lodis  was 
iii.t  pn.piTly  scciiii'd  l)y  claiiiis  in  the  dirt'ction  of  .lip  did 
not  enter  into  the  ealciiiatinns  ..f  the  eaily  ..peratois.  but 
now  that  persistenee  in  depth  iia.-^  I)een  estal.iishea  there  is 
more  foresight  shown.  The  Cahiniet  \-  lleela  Company, 
for  example,  undonhtediy  made  a  l)hn:der  in  faihnjt  |"„ 
secnre  the  'deep  U-wV  of  their  big  discovery,  an  omission 
whieli  became  the  l.asis  for  the  organization  of  the  Tama- 
rack, wiiose  first  sliaft  went  down  vertically  2,1(M)  ft.  hcfore 
it  cut  the  CaJMniet  conglomerate.  At  the  present  time  the 
Allouez  is  another  example  of  a  'deep  level"  enterprise,  it 
having  been  planned  on  an  estimated  dip  of  .'JS"  to  cut  the 
Kearsarge-Woherine  amygdaloid  at  l.KK)  f(>ct. 

Hold  outcrops  of  rich  ore  do  not  characterize  the  Lake 
district,  so  that  tho  l)cgiimings  -f  a  succes.sful  mine  recjuire 
more  than  the  ordinary  prospector's  activi.y.     The  .Mo- 
hawk was  foiuid  by  the  uprooting  of  a  tree,  caused  by  the 
falling  of  another  tree  which  had  l)een  felled  by  a  wood- 
chopper.     :\[r.  John  Stanton  had  obtained  an  option  on  the 
property  with  a  \iew  to  prospecting.     The  chopper  brought 
him  a  lump  of  rock  showing  copper,  which  adhered  to  Uie 
roots  of  the  tree,  and  he  then  arranged  for  a  s.vstematic 
exjiloration.     Tiiirteen  pits  were  put  down  to  a  depth  of  M) 
to  40  ft.,  and  for  lengths  of  2,')  to  45  ft.  acro.ss  the  strike 
of  the  lode.     All  save  two  of  these  trenches  exjiosed  copper 
ore   of   good  grade,  and  th<"  evidence  thus  olKained  wa.s 
held  to  warrant  the  sinking  of  shafts.     In  this  ca.sc  the 
tirift  overlying  the  true  rock  was  only  12  to  20  ft.  thick; 
but  elsewhere  in  the  district  sucii  prosjjecting  is  rendered 
expensive  by  reason  of  a  heavy  overl)ur(lcn  of  drift.     On 
tlie  Cllobe  ground,  just  south  of  the  Champion,  there  is  as 
much  as  2(K)  ft.  of  'wash';  and,  in  order  to  determine  the  • 
p<   ition  and  \alue  of  the  lode,  it  was  necessary  to  put  down 
two  diamond-drill  holes  from  a  point  some  distance  dip- 
ward,  so  as  to  strike  the  lode  at  right  anghvs,  and  these 
holes  pas.sed  through  22.j  ft.  of  drift  and  600  ft.  of  rock 


or  lAKK  sri'innoH. 


Ill 


Iwforo  they  cut  tlie  ore,  with  results  that  warraPted  the 
«"     iiditurc. 

A  good  example  of  the  application  of  geological  knowledge 
to  niinii','^  exi)Ioration    is  ufforded  by  tlie  story  of  the 
Champion  mine,     lint  belurc  this  is  related,  a  few  intro- 
ductory remarks  are  necessarv.    Tlio  trap  beds— that  is, 
the  layers  of  (iial)ase  forming  so  larg.j  a  part  of  the  Kewee- 
naw Meries— are  so  nearly  aUke  that  identification  is  ordi- 
narily impracticable,  but  occasionally  some  mineralngical 
characteristic  will  serve  as  a  guide;  thus  the  foot-wall  of 
tlie  Kearsarge  amygdaloid  is  a  l)ed  marked  by  large  feld- 
spars.    Dr.  L.  L.  llubbartl,  formerly  State  Cleologist,  used 
this  fact  to  determine  the  position  of  the  Kearsarge  amygda- 
loid, and  he  proved  that  it  was  a  safe  indicator.     It  is  also 
proper  to  state  that  the  officers  of  the  Michigan  Geological 
Survey  recognized  the  foot-wall  at  the  Mohawk  as  being 
this  same  Iwd.  before  they  knew  tliat  any  openings  had 
disclosed  copper;  and  they  made  known  this  identification 
at  once,  although  it  was  a  long  time  Ijefore  the  people  oi 
the  district  would  admit  the  correctness  of  the  correlation 
I'sually  the  amygdaloid  layers  are  more  susceptible  tc 
weathering  than  the  compact  trap  enca.sing  them,  cot  -- 
<iuently  they  become  covered  with  drift  and  soil.     The  ( 
glomerate  beds,  on  the  other  hand,  resist  erosion  and  forn 
occasional  outcrops.     It  was  thrf)ugh  one  of  these  that  the 
Cliampion  mine  was  discovered. 

The  Champion  location  covers  the  southern  extension  of 
the  Haltic  lode;  in  the  Baltic  mine  there  is  a  conglomerate 
bed  lying  1 12  ft.  to  the  east— in  the  foot-wall— of  the  Baltic 
coi)per-bearing  amygdaloid;  this  conglomerate  is  supposed 
to  be  Marvine's  Xo.  3.  In  his  explorations  over  what  is 
now  the  Champion  company's  ground,  and  over  what  was 
then  a  tract  of  bush-laud  belonging  to  the  Canal  company. 
Dr.  Hubbard  found  one  solitary  outcrop  of  what  he  took 
to  be  the  No.  3  conglomerate  just  referred  to;  this  outcrop 
was  50  ft.  long— long  enough  to  give  a  line  of  strike;  he 


t; 


II--' 


lilt:  COl'l'Kli  MIS'KS 


then  sU-pjH><l  off  112  ft.  westwunl  uiul  cumo  to  a  lodgo  of 
trap,  cvhioiitly  not  what  he  was  woekiii^r;  hut  ii  few  foot 
l>oyoii(l  there  wa«  a  (lo|)rex.«ti(  i  in  the  surface  marking  the 
course  of  a  stream,  in  the  Ivtl  '"  which  he  fountl  an  amygda- 
loid. Hy  following  the  c.ursv  of  this  amyKdaloi.i,  "along 
another  depression  between  two  outcrops  of  traj),  iie  soon 
unearthed  some  copper  ore.  Then,  guided  by  the  strike 
of  the  conglomerate,  he  fr)llo\ved  the  parallel  amygdaloid; 
he  made  V.i  o|K'nings,  and  found  the  copjKT  lode"  in  all  of 
them.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Champion  mine,  of 
wliich  the  successful  geologist  just  mentioned  i.s  now  the 
elficient  manager. 

Whih;  I  was  at  liought(jn  there  wa.s  talk  of  discoveries  on 
Section  l'),  a  tract  on  which  this  same  Haltic-Champion 
loile  had  Iwcm  found.     As  I  wanted  to  see  what  appearance 
was  presented  by  an  infant  copper  mincof  the  LakeSup<>rior 
ty|)e.  I  went  to  see  the  discovery,  by  tlie  courtesy  of  Messrs. 
H.  E.  Pryor.  James  Blandy  and  J.  P.  Edwards.  '  Work  was 
proceeding  in  an  oiH>n-cut.  recently  enlarge.!  from  a  pros- 
IHcting  tnnich,  at  the  bottom  of  which  a  copper  lode  was 
exi)o.sed.     One  foot  to  IS  in.  of  soil  and  gravel  formed  a 
surface  layer,  in  which  nests  of  carbonated  copper  were 
buried;   these  were  essentially  pieces  of  'float'  copper,  so 
oxidized  that  the  carbonated  mass  usually  contained  only  a 
nucleus,  as  big  as  a  pea,  of  copper  coaK'd  with  cuprite  and 
buried  in  malachite  and  azurite.     Under  this  layer  came 
three  or  four  feet  of  'hard  pan.'  a  ma.ss  of  brecciated  rock 
and  gravel  well  comeiit<>.!,  in  wiiich  were  seen  further  fra.^- 
ments  of  cojjper  coated  i)y  cuprite  and  surrounded  by  car- 
bonates; below  this,  within  the  seams  in  the  amygdaloid 
rock,  there  wore  copper  stains  for  a  further  depth  of  S  or  9 
ft.,  although  tlie  country  itself  exhibited  no  weathering. 
The  open-cut  showed  a  wic'.e  lode  carrying  metallic  copper 
distributed  irreguhuly  and  to  an  extent  which  the  eye 
could  not  gauge.     A  succession  of  trenches  indicated  the 
ni.Tfuur  in  which  the  lode  had  been  traced. 


;^>T* 


w^,4^\'h'^\mar 


^^.^^!^!»?^J5WH^ 


OF  LAKE  SVPKlilOH. 


113 


'-;ir^C^ 


114 


THE  COPI'IJH  MlXhS 


.Mr.  Edwanls  tol.l  iiie  the  >\^,vy  ui  thi.s  youiij;  enterprise. 
At  the  soutlieni  eiul  of  the  gn.uii.l,  lie  lia.l  found  a  solitary 
outcn.p  of  eoii-lonierate;  as  1  saw  it.it  was  a  roun.led  huni- 
inock  amid  the  Ijush.  lisin-  three  or  four  feet  above  the 
fli'iieral  surface  and  exten(hn<i  for  40  or  ,J0  ft.     He  sunk 
l)its  in  this  eonjiiomerate.  to  determine  tiie  line  of  the  strike 
and  to  permit  him  to  infer  the  relative  course  of  the  amy- 
.laloid  lode  he  was  seekinjr.    .Mr.  J-dwards  hat!  mad.-  up  hl« 
Mund  that  this  was  the  No.  :i  conglomerate,  which  is  ((uite 
prominent  at  surface  north  (,f  the  IJaltic:  and.  knowin-  that 
Its  normal  position  was  11l>  to  lI.->  ft.  east  of  the  Baltic 
a-uyjidaloid,  he  obtained  a  line  of  departure  for  his  pros- 
pecting trenches.     At    VH)  ft.  lie  found  the  lode  he  was 
lookuig  for.  the  greater  distance  being  accountable  t..  tiie 
difference  in  dip.  .j.j^  here,  as  against    7.3"  at  the  Baltic 
Thereupon  .Messrs.  J.  P.  Kdwanis.  R.  C.  Pryor  and  others 
went  to  work  to  secure  terms  from  the  owners  of  the  land 
uluch  was  held  in  40.  (iO  arul  !»o-acre   tracts  bv  various 
individuals.    These  gave  them  an  option,  on  condition  of 
SlO.OOii  being  raised  for  exploratory  work;  and.  this  bein<r 
done,  a  local  company  was  then  organized  to  take  over  the 
nption  and  tlistribute  the  sl.ar.s  pro  rata  according  to  the 
acreage  of  each   participant,     luiough   treasury  stock- 
oO.OOO  shares— was  created  t<.  enable  w.u-king  capital  to  be 
raised  as  required  for  the  mining  operations;  10  (X)0  of  these 
shares  were  .sold  at  -SI    to  meet  expenses  of  prosjiectincr 
while  the  remainder  was  k.-pt  in  the  trea.surv  for  further 
contingencies.     It  is  intende.l  to  proceed  with  exj.loration 
and  development.     Wh<„  sullici(.nt  work  .shall  have  been 
<l.>ne  and  enough  copper  ore  accumulated,  arrangements 

u-.Il  be  made  to  lease  a  stamp  and  to  ship  the  output  over  the 
nearest  railroad  to  the  mill. 

'Ihi.s  story  ha.s  hoon  related  to  e.xemplifv  the  manner  in 

whicli  mining  enterprises  are  started  in  this  region     Every 

district  has  its  own  metho.l.  dependent  entirely  up.,n  the 

nature  of  the  mineral  discovery  an.l  the  amount  of  canital 


OF  LAKK  SUI'EHIOR. 


11; 


rcMiuired  to  make  a  profitable  luino.  Of  courjse,  in  tlu-  i-arso  of 
these  low-grade  copper  niiiies,  there  is  an  enormous  amount 
of  money  required  for  development,  for  a  mill,  usually  fi)r  a 
railroad,  and  sometimes  for  a  smelter,  Ix-fore  the  (>i-.terprise 
is  finally  placed  u])on  the  safe  ])lane  of  an  investment. 

In  comparing  these  lodes  of  native  c:)pper  with  other 
metalliferous    deposits,    tliey    are    found    to    present    one 
striking  feature— the  imjxis.sibility  of  sampling  them.    To 
anyone   accustomed    to  precious-metal    mining,  in  which 
every  stage  of  intellig.  iit  enterjjrise  is  checked  by  accurate 
."^amijhng,  the  inability  to  employ  this  method  in  the  Lake 
.Superior  mines  presents  a  subject  of  i)eculiar  interest.      It 
is  obvious  that  the  occurrence  of  the  metal  in  a  native  condi- 
tion, and  in  sizes  ranging  between  the  microscojHC  and 
masses    weighing   many    tons,    offers    an    insurmoimtable 
obstacle  to  any  .sampling  inetiiod  which  is  based  essentially 
on  the  doctrine  of  averages.    To  sample  a  vein  containing 
free  gold  in  pockety  form  has  long  been  given  up  as  a  hope- 
less task,  more  likely  to  mislead  than  to  guide;  this  is  prac- 
tically the  probltMu  in  the  Lake  Superior  region.    No  cross- 
sectional  determination  of  contents  by  channeling  a  breast 
of  copper  ore  will  help  the  appraiser  of  values,  because 
not  only  is  the  distribution  of  the  metal  sporadic,  but  it 
occurs  in  a  form  rendorMig  it  im])racticable  to  break  a  true 
sample.    A  moil  and  a  hanniier  are  of  no  more  use  than  a 
pocket-knife  when  it  comes  to  cutting  across  a  lump  of 
tenacious  metal,  or  a  concrete  of  shot  cop|)er,  and  sucli  is 
the  usual  composition  eitlier  of  an  ordinary  amygdal.jidal, 
or  of  a  conglomerate,  copper  lode. 

The  sampler  and  the  assay-plan  are  unknown  at  Hough- 
ton and  at  Calumet:  but  other  methods  are  employed.  In 
the  first  place,  experience  enal>les  a  man  to  judge  the  per- 
centage of  copper  in  the  rock;  such  judgment  is  subject  to 
error,  as  being  at  best  only  a  gues*.  but  it  serves  a  useful 
purpose,  especially  when  applied  to  difTerent  face.s  of  the 
same  lode,  each  having  its  own  copper  hal)it.  that  is,  a 


If 


116 


COPPER  MIXES 


ccrtani  ratio  betweon  the  lumps  and  the  finer  particles 
\Vhen  examining  a  new  discovery  or  a  young  „,iae  under- 
gon.g  early  development,  an  experi.-ncod  man  will  separate 
the   barrel  work'  or  lumps  of  n.etal  coining  up  in  a  -men 
number  oi  buckets  or  cars,  ami  in  ti.at  way  he  can  deter- 
•mne  tl.e  nun.ber  of  j,ounds  of  copper  pvv  ton  of  rock      Of 
course  he  has  no  way  of  getting  at  the  fine  cojjper  scattered 
n-,n,gh  the  rock,  an,l  he  must  decide  fron,  the  character  of 
the  lode  how  great  a  part  this  plays  in  the  actual  percentage 
o    me  al  present      If  it  appears  fron.  a  test  sucii  as  thi;, 
that  the  lode  is  rich  enough  to  becom  >  the  basis  for  a  profit- 
able mine,  then  development  is  pu..ed  until  the  enterprise 
roaches  the  next  stage.  This  is  theaccmnulation  ,.f  sufficient 
copper  ore  to  permit   of   the  leasing  of  a  stamp   and  tin 
making  o    a  mill-run.     There  is  usually  son.e  mill  i„  the 
district  winch  is  i.lle  or  has  a  stamp-out  <,f  two  or  three- 
which  can  be  lease<l.     The  work  of  one  stamp  means  the 
crushing  of  from  o()0  to  000  tons  per  <lay ;  and  the  trial  mav 
cover  a  .s  npment  of  1,00()  tons,  r.r  it  mav  mean  stea.i; 
crushmg  from  a  continuous  output.     In  eitlu-r  case   the 
quality  of  the  average  out,,ut  of  the  mine  is  ade,,uatelv 
osted,  and  this  may  warrant  either  the  leasing  of  milling 
facilities  for  a  term  of  years  or  the  erection  of  a  mill  in  c-.n- 
ncction  with  the  mine.     The  ciiarge  for  custom  millin. 
ranges  from  40  to  4.",  cents  per  ton. 

It  was  bysuci,  metliods  that  most  of  the  mines  ma.Ie  their 
boginnmg.  and  it  is  obvious  from  this  account  that  the 
do tenmnat.on  of  the  value  of  a  copper  mine  requires  capital 
It  ak,s  a  gold  mm,,  to  mak.>  a  copper  mine:  but  it  is  fair  to 
ndd  that  when  the  copper  mine  is  once  s,.t  going  in  the  I  ake 
roginn,  ,t  outlasts  several  gold  mines  of  the  average  kind 


Y^f'  =.^-T'';^-;V  ■  V-' 


-^li— Milling  Mkthods. 


1  he  tlunuler  of  the  ordinary  stanip-niiU  may  be  likened 
to  the  rliythniic  crash  of  tlie  surf;  at  a  distance,  especially 
among  niountauis  encouraging  an  echo,  the  inufHc.1  roar  o> 
many  stamps  is  as  the  voice  of  the  sea  when  heard  from  far 
mhuid.     lint  the  steam-stamp  has  no  poetry;    it  is  all 
busmess.     It  seemed  to  me,  while  in  the  Lake  Superior 
copper  region,  tiiat  whether  a  mill  contained  one  stamp  or 
twenty,  it  was  only  a  single  elephantine  tliump  that  I 
heard.     Inside  also  there  was  not  the  confusing  uproar 
which  accompanies  the  work  of  gravity  stamps  when  under 
co^■er,  but  the  decisive  thuds  of  one  or  more  heads  sending 
their  tons  of  weight  into  the  bed  of  ore  on  the  dies      I„ 
Gilpin  county,  Colorado,  a  mill  that  crushes  500  tons  per 
dicm  woul.l  contain  three  or  four  hundred  stamps,  while  a 
tahfonna  mill  with  equal  capacity  would  require  about 
.wo  hundred,  an<l,  similarly,  a  South  African  plant  treating 
..00  tons  would  have  100  stamps;  therefore,  to  the  visitor 
from  otiier  mining  regions,  a  mill  of  one  stamp  appears  a 
lonesome  piece  of  machinery,  until  it  is  realized  that  it 
crushes  a  tonnage  equal  to  the  output  of  a  whole  row  of 
batteries  of  the  ordinary  type.    The  Isle  Rovale  mill   the 
first  one  I  visited,  because  it  is  close  to  the  town  of  Ho'u.rh- 
K-.i  had  only  one  stamp  in  operation,  yet  it  crushes  550 
tons  per  dicm.  and  the  contrast  with  earlier  experiences 

There  is  less  noise;  there  is  also  less  vibration ;  and  bv 
reason  of  the  absence  of  long  belts  from  shaft  to  counter'- 
shaft,  there  is  more  room,  which  is  utilized  tc  the  extent  of 
employing  the  feed-floor  as  a  machine  shop.  At  the  very 
beginning  of  the  milling,  and  thence  to  the  end  of  the 
operation,  the  object  of  ti.e  reduction  process  is  in  plain 

S  <rht.      \\T\ih   o   „^I.I f ,'  .  '''*'" 


sight 


With  a  gold  ore  of  a%-erage  grade,  one  does  not  see 


r  I 


lis 


■/■///•;  COri'EH  MIXES 


tlic  metal;  it  is  cxtiac-tcil  when  still  alloyed  with  iiiemiry  a.s 
an  aiiiai^ain,  as  a  cnncentrato  intimately  associated  with 
lirijiiit  sulphides,  or  as  an  unseen  element  in  l)lack  slime. 
Hut  in  this  treatment  of  eopjjer  ore,  the  metal  stands  „ut 
every  when-— it  is  picked  in  big  chunks  out  of  the  l)inken 
stuff  running  from  the  bin  into  the  mortar;  it  is  discharged 
in  lumjis  as  big  as  potatoes  from  tiie  mortar  itself;  it  is 
taken  as  a  red  gravel  from  the  roughing  jigs;  it  comes  in 
Hner  grains  from  the  finishing  jigs;  and  as  a  rvA  mud  from 
the  Wilfleys.  Througliout  tlie  series  of  operations,  tlu; 
object  of  all  the  cxjtenditure  of  machine  power  and  human 
labor  is  jjlaiidy  visible.  Finally,  it  is  collected,  not  in  the 
relatively  insigi  ''■ant  proportion  in  which  gold  is  obtained, 
but  lavishly,  to  oi  loaded  into  oil-barrels,  of  r)2  gal.  capacity; 
each  of  these  contains  l.oOO  to  l.SOO  lb.,  and  when  ready  for 
shipment,  tliey  are  sei'.t  on  railroad  cars,  to  the  smelter. 

In  the  (>arly  days,  when  the  Eagle  River  and  Ontonagon 
mines  were  the  principal  producers,  that  part  of  the  outimt 
which  went  under  the  stamps  was  unimportant,  the  profit 
ix'ing  made  from  Mnass'  cojiper.  'i'he  early  stamp-mills 
were  crude  affairs;  it  was  the  practice  to  calcine  the  rock 
before  stami)ing  in  order  to  facilitate  the  crushing.  The 
practice  obtaining  in  lS7(]was  exemplified  by  the  Allouez, 
where  tlie  millstutf  went  from  the  stamp  to  a  hydraulic 
separator,  the  slime  passing  to  .settling  boxes  and  then  to 
convex  tables  of  the  Kvans  type;  while  the  oversize  from 
the  separator  went  to  seven  double  jigs.  The  Allouez  com- 
pany, in  that  year,  erected  a  separate  mill  of  L'S  Cornish 
stamps  to  re-crusli  the  coarse  sand,  their  attention  having 
been  called  to  the  loss  incurred  from  insufTicient  grinding. 
The  stamp  screens  had  J  in,  liolc..  and  the  water  eiuployed 
amounteil  to  47  ton.s  per  24  hours  per  ton  of  rock  crushed, 
or  1..").")^  gal,  per  min.  for  two  stamps. 

In  IS.-).-)  the  cost  of  stamping  at  the  North  American  and 
Copper  Falls  tnills  was  from  .?1  M  to  .S2  per  ton ;  in  1S74  the 
Quincy  brought  the  cost  down  to  Sl.OS;  and,  in  lSSl,wiih 


OF  LAKE  sri'ElilOH. 


Hi) 


< 

Z 

s 

0 

2 


120 


THE  COPPER  MINES. 


the  introduction  of  tlie  Ball  stamp,  to  71  cents.     In  18S2 
the  Atlantic  attained  a  record  witli  \M  cents  per  ton. 

While  at  tlie  Tamarack  mine  I  saw  a  train  of  eleven  cars, 
carrying  440  tons  of  mine  ore,  about  to  start  for  the  mill. 
This  entire  traiiiload  of  copper  ore  was  insufiicient  to  keep 
one  sta  [)  going  for  one  day.  Tuenty-five  years  ago  the 
maximum  capacity  of  a  steam  stamp  was  150  tons  of 
amygdaloid;  seven  years  ago  it  was  350  tons  per  stamp; 
now  the  new  compoun  1  stamp  has  a  one-day  record  of  779 
tons,  and  a  two  weeks'  record  of  725  tons  per  24  hours  of 
actual  running,  or  a  duty  of  700  tons  per  day,  including 
stops.  This  has  been  done  recently  at  the  Osceola  mill  on 
Kearsarge  amygdaloid. 

To  convey  the  product  of  this  powerful  crushing  machine, 
an  enormous  \olume  of  water  is  required.  The  average 
consumption  is  .3.V  million  gallons  per  head  per  24  hours. 
At  the  Quincy  mill  an  .\llis  triple-expr  nsion  pumping  engine 
throws  16,(K)0,000  gal.,  and  a  Worthington  pump  12,000,000; 
this  supply  of  28,000,000  gal.  is  consumed  by  the  eight 
stamps,  of  which  seven  are  usually  at  work.  There  is  an 
overflow  of  3,.500,000  gal.,orsufl^icient  for  another  .stamp— 
which  includes,  of  course,  the  array  of  jigs  and  tables  that 
represent  the  scheme  of  treatment.  In  an  ordinarj-  stamp- 
mill  the  water  used  averages  3  to  5  gal.  per  stamp  per 
.ninute,  or  about  10  tons  of  water  per  ton  of  ore.  In  these 
steam-stamp  works,  the  ratio  is  .30  tons  of  water  to  one  ton 
of  ore  crushed. 

The  process  consists  of  coarse  crushing— through  screen 
openings  of  f  inch— followed  by  .successive  elimination  of 
the  copper  by  jigs  and  concentrating  tables,  aided  by  the 
usual  classifiers.  A  small  part  of  the  material  undergoes 
re-grinding.  It  is  a  process  of  elimination  of  a  single 
product— native  copper— by  gradual  concentration,  the 
crude  material  being  to  the  final  product  in  the  ratio  of 
about  fiO  to  1.  A  Montana  mill  treating  mixed  sulphides 
would  be  nearly  four  times  as  big. 


OF  LAKE  SlPElilOR. 


121 


122 


77//;  (Ol'I'ER  MIXES 


The  steuin-stainp  was  invented  hy  Bull,  who  had  huilt 
steain-haniniers,  and  saw  their  availability  for  crushing  ore; 
the  steani-stanij)  may  also  he  re^rardcd  as  a  gravity  stamp 
of  great  weight,  actuated  directly  hy  a  steam-engine,  the 
stem  becoming  tlic  extension  of  the  piston.  In  tiic  I.eavitt 
design,  in  wliich  tlie  steam  is  admitted  only  at  the  top  of  the 
cylinder,  the  stamp-shaft,  with  its  attached  shoe,  on  striking 
the  bed  of  ore,  rebounds  against  the  condensing  cusliion  of 
steam,  so  that  the  uneven  surface  of  ore  on  the  die  suffices 
to  turn  the  stamp.  But  this  turning  is  quite  irregular;  it  is 
scarcely  appreciable  for  two  or  three  successive  drops,  and 
the!i  coines  a  grand  whirl  equal  to  half  a  revolution.  In 
tiie  Allis  and  Nordberg  stamps,  tiie  steam  is  admitted  to  the 
cylinder  both  at  the  top  and  bottom;  the  steam  admitted 
through  the  upper  ports  drives  the  stamp-shaft  down  into 
the  bed  of  ore  upon  the  die,  the  stamp  being  immediately 
raised  at  the  end  of  the  stroke  by  the  admission  (.f  steaiii 
through  the  lower  ports  of  the  cylinder.  By  reason  of  the 
force  with  whch  the  shoe  is  driven  into  the  ore,  a  meci-.pn- 
ical  device  is  required  to  turn  the  stamp. 

On  the  whole,  while  the  steam-stamp  is  an  impressive 
rock-breaker,  it  is  a  had  ])ulverizer  and  an  expensive  kind 
of  engine,  for  it  uses  4.5  to  60  lb.  steam  per  hor.scpower-hour. 
Greater  economy  ha.s  been  secured  by  the  introduction  of 
the  compound  system.  In  the  Osceola  and  Champion 
mills,  the  us.t  of  compound  engines  on  the  stamps  lias 
met  with  excellent  results  and  has  enabled  the  at- 
tainment of  a  maximum  crushing  capacity — 710  tons  per 
head. 

The  ore  contains  lump  copper,  which  the  stamp  of 
course  fails  to  crush,  and  only  serves  to  deform;  this  is 
extracted  by  two  devices,  both  of  which  are  described  in  the 
notes  which  follow.  These  lumps  of  metal,  like  potatoes 
in  size,  used  to  be  a  serious  obstacle.  Before  the  automatic 
discharges  were  invented,  it  was  necessary  to  stop  three 
or  four  times  in  a  sh'ft,  and  raise  the  stamp  on  blocks,  while 


-^3S?i>tvi:a  •4-^-'-»*- 


or  LAKE  SVl'EHIOR.  lo.j 

pryii^r  out  the  chunks  of  metallic  ,■„,,,„.,•  with  pu-k,.  .„i.i 
crow  lulls. 

A  look  at  th(;  n\)i^vd,  iriTKuIar  pieces  of  copper,  with  their 
attached  rock-matrix,  as  tiiey  appear  lx>fore  jtoiug  under 
the  stamp,  and  tlie  examination  of  the  roundel  mijrgets  as 
discharged  from  the  mortar,  after  l.einj;  pouiuied  under  the 
stamp,  will  onal.lo  one  to  realize  tli(>  waste  of  power  and 
the  almts.on  of  metal  which  must  take  place  l)efore  the 
millins  operations  are  properly  started. 

The  mortar  screen  is  made  in  sections;  at  the  (^uincy 
mill,  out  of  five  such  sections,  one  of  the  central  two  has 
1-inch  openings  while  the  others  have  |  inch;  it  having 
been  found  that  this  arrangement  relieves  the  mortar  (.f 
nugget  copper,  which  is  miahle  to  make  it.s  exit  through 
the  hydraulic  (Krause)  discharge.  The  mortar  is  also  pro- 
vided with  a  hinged  screen  which  enables  it  to  be  oi)ened 
for  examination  and  close<l  again  within  five  minules 
lormcrly  thi.s  required  at  least  one-quarter  of  an  hour.  It 
IS  customary  to  open  the  mortar  twice  per  shift,  and  oftener 
when  anything  goes  wrong. 

Difference  of  character  in  the  copper    ore    affect.s  the 
crushing  of  it  and  leacis  to  a  modification  of  treatment 
Amygdaloid  Is  not  only  easier  to  crusli  than  conglomerate 
but  the  copper  does  not  enter  so  much  into  the  harder 
portioas  of  the  rock  as  in  conglomerate,  where  the  hardest 
pebbles  are  intimately  impregnated  with  the  metal,  and 
therefore,  require    finer    comminution.     The    later    takes 
the  form  of  re-grinding.     This  is  todav  one  of  the  principal 
problems  of  the  milling  practice,  but  it  will  be  consiflered 
to  better  advantage  when  the  representative  mills  shall  have 
been  described. 

The  Isle  Royale  is  a  comparativelv  new  mill  of  thr<=e 
stamps,  designed  on  lines  which  represent  the  outcom.  " 
the  practice   prevailing  four  years  ago.     Ore  from   the 
mines  comes  in  hopper-bottom  cai^  of  ?.0-ton  capacity 
Sixteen  to  2(\  of  them  arrive  at  the  mill  everj-  24  hours  tii- 


124 


THE  COPPER  MINES 


f\ 


§    e' 


Jtumifl  A 


d  Cb  S 


STEAM-STAMP  OF       IE 


OF  LAKE  SVERIOIi. 


125 


AM-ISCHALMHRG  Tvl'i- 


l.T. 


■////•;  <(ii'i'i:i{  .\n.\i:s 


>ii[)|)ly  the  sihult'  >taiiip  now  in  (ipciatioii.  Tlic  fupucity 
of  oiU'li  staiiip  is  .V)(l  tun-  /«/•  ilii iii.  I'ruiii  tlic  bin  tho  ore 
is  I'fil,  liy  j:ni\  ity.  aliiiij;  an  iron  cliiile,  i\e|)t  wet  hy  a  stream 
of  water,  so  as  to  aid  the  ileseeiit  of  the  iiialcrial  and  wash 
down  tlie  hne  stnff.  A  man  with  an  iron  md.  hnokcd  at 
till'  end,  watches  tlie  feed  and  rejinhites  it.  l>y  liohhnj:  liaei\ 
tlie  ore  on  the  ehiite  or  e.\iie,litint{  it.  as  required  hy  the 
sfamii.  the  needs  of  whicii  are  imUeated  hy  tlie  striki  a  of 
a  'lionnet'  or  foupUng  upon  an  iron  rod  wiienever  the  feed 
is  too  low. 

The  stamp  is  driven,  in  its  descent,  hy  the  piston  of  a 
steam-(>iifiine  having  a  "JO-in.  cylinder  and  rated  at  l!Mt 
horsepower.  Steam  follows  tho  stamp  for  aliout  half  the 
stroke,  the  hesid  developing  a  maxinnnn  velocity  of  '2'y  ft. 
per  seci>nd.  The  total  fallinji  weifjht  is  three  to  four  tons, 
luach  siioe  \\ci]uhs  ,s(H)  Ih.  nhen  new,  and  lasts  ahouj  two 
weeks,  hy  which  time  it  has  lo-*  half  its  weight.  Both 
shoes  and  dies  are  of  chillecl  iron,  made  at  the  local  foundry. 
The  stamp  dro|)s  lOS  times  per  miinile.  a  stroke  or  drop  of 
'2[  in,  ;i'.id  T'  actual  averajre  stroke  of  '20  to  24  in.,  the  dif- 
lerence  lieinjr  due  to  I  he  inickuiss  of  the  !hi1  of  ore  on  the 
<lic. 

Tile  mortar  is  circular  and  has  a  sectional  lininj;  which  is 
renewed  e\'erv  1 '  to  '2  years.  Discharfie  takes  place  throufrh 
a  screen  of  jiunched  steel-i)late  with  holes  J  in.  diameter. 
.AftiT  i)assini;  thrnu}!:h  tliis  screen,  tho  jiulp  poes  to  two 
trommels,  haxinj:  }-in.  lioles.  th(>  oversize  from  wiiich  is  re- 
turned (at  the  late  of  about  7  tons  per  liour)  to  the  mortar 
hvmeans  of  a  rul)t)er  lielt-elevator.  Removal  of  lump  cop- 
l)erfroin  the  tnortar  is  effected  by  a  hydraulic  arrangement 
known  as  the  Parnall-Krause  discharj;e.  This  device  cf)n- 
sists  essentially  of  a  stream  of  water  fed  l)v  a  ft-in.  pipe,  and 
entering  throusli  a  4-in.  o]ienii>jr  just  below  the  lip  of  tho 
mortar.  Tlie  rising:  stream  is  under  presstire  sufficient  to 
k(>ep  tlie  rock  from  t;ettiii}i  out  of  the  mortar,  while  jier- 
mittiiii:  the  exit  of  the  copper.     The  )iieces  of  metal  thus 


OF  LAKE  SiPKlilOli. 


127 


oxtracted  arc  terinctl  'licail- 
iiiKf*.'  Al)t)iit  (mi'-(|uait»'r  of 
the  total  proiluct  of  tlic  mill 
t'oines  out  in  this  way;  an 
equal  proportion  of  the  rc- 
niaiiiiiiji  eopper  is  «-xtracteil 
lietweeii  the  mortar  and  the 
trommels,  by  u  similar  hy- 
draulic separation  aeting 
through  an  inch  pipe. 

The  scheme  of  treatment  is 
indicated  on  the  accompany- 
inji  diagram,  which  illustrates 
onishalf  of  a  symmetric  ar- 
rangement. The  undersize 
from  the  tronunels  goes  to  a 
Tanuuack  hydraulic  classifier, 
or  s|)itzlutte,  having  four  par- 
titions. Four  sizes  are  made; 
these  go  to  a  respective  series 
of  roughing  jigs,  of  whidi  there 
are  six  rows  of  four  each.  They 
are  double  compartment  Col- 
lom  jigs.  Each  yields  its  pro- 
duct of  metallic  copper;  the 
overflow  goes  to  waste,  while 
the  hutchwork  j)a.sses  on  to 
the  di.stributors  which  feed 
the  finishing  jigs;  of  tiiese 
there  arc  twelve,  with  double 
compartments.  Here  the  pro- 
duct is  again  copper  metal; 
the  hutchwork  goes  to  settling 
boxes:  a  portion  is  clean 
enough  to  go  to  ihe  smelter; 
the   remainder    is    re-treated; 


NOTE.. 


A 


12,S 


77/ A'  COI'I'KK  MISES 


■*■■  ,     .i^* 


''^^'l 


INTIvKIOR  OK  TRIMorXTAIX    MILL, 


-;■■  -.-^  .M,i 


fii  '*^¥^^ 


1^:?*'-    -  .*-'V/ 


! 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


129 


the  overflow  goes  to  the   lake.    Concerning  the  roughing 
jigs,  it  may  be   added   that  the   first   of  these   has   an 
8-niesh  sieve  followed  by  a  10-niesh  in  the  atljoining  com- 
partment; the   next  has   12   and    14-mesh,  respectively 
the  third  10  and  12;  the  fourth  14  and  16.     In  each  case 
the  screen  is  cut  to  a  sieve  24  in.  wide  Ijy  36  in.  long.     Re- 
turning to  the  classifier  below  the   trommels;  the  slime 
proceeds  to  V-shaped  settling  boxes  antl  is  there  separated; 
the  overflow  discharging  into  the  lake,  wliile  the  heavy  goes 
to  three  revolving  two-deck  buddies  known  as  Evans  tables, 
the  product  of  which  is  re-dressed  on  a  Wilfley  table,  the 
tailing  from  this  machine  being  returned  to  the  Evans  slime- 
tables.    The  Evans  buddies  have  a  cement  surface,  and  their 
capacity  is  12^  tons  per  deck,  or  25  tons  for  the  machine 
The   'ragging'   from   the  second   compartment  of  the 
roughmg  jigs  is  withdrawn  through  an  air  discharge  and 
goes  back  to  the  stamj,.    This  '  ragging '  is  the  heavy  copper- 
beanng  sand  lymg  immediately  over  tlie  copper  which  con- 
centrates on  the  sieve;  it  is  es.sentiallv  a  coarse  middling 
The  treatment  of  this  material  was  the  only  attempt  at  re- 
grmdmg  in  the  Isle  Royale  mill  at  the  time  of  mv  visit; 
but  I  am  informed  by  the  superintendent,  Jlr.  J.  G.  Glan- 
ville,  that  rolls  are  now  being  installed  to  treat  oversize 
from  the  revolving  screens. 

Another  typical  stamp-mill,  crushing  amygdaloid  'copper 
rock,'  IS  that  of  the  Quincy,  on  Torch  lake.  Mr  Jas  W 
Shields  is  superintendent.  There  are  two  mills,  one  con- 
tamnig  five  heads,  and  the  other  three.  In  the  old  mill 
each  stamp  has  a  crushing  capacity  of  475  tons,  under  a 
steam-pressure  of  98  lb.  per  sq.  in.;  while  in  the  adjoining 
new  mdl,  a  capacity  of  550  tons  is  obtain-d  with  a  pressure 
of  1 18  lb.  of  steam.  New  shoes  weigh  708  lb.  and  last  eight 
days,  by  which  time  they  weigh  435  lb.  The  die  weighs 
800  lb.,  and  lasts  six  to  eight  months:  when  taken  out  it 
weighs  225  to  275  lb.  if  it  has  worn  evenly,  the  avera-^e 
being  250  pounds. 


i:iO 


TIIK  COPI'ER  MIXES 


Tlie  .stamps  have  an  ii-'proved  discharge  for  reiuoving 
himp  copper  from  the  mortar,  and  there  is  a  similar '     hau- 
lic  separator  below  each  of  the  trommels,  to  wimu  the 
crushed   ore   passes  from  the  stamp.    The  screen  on  the 
mortar  is  made  in  Hve  upright  sections  or  strips,  one  of 
them  having  openings  of  1  inch,  and  the  others  holes  of  f 
inch.     Tlie  larger  screen-opening  is  found  to  be  successful 
in  relieving  the  mortar  of  lump  copper  which  does  not  make 
an  exit  by  the  mortar  discharge.     From  the  stamp  the  ore 
goes  to  the  two  trommels,  i)rovideil  with  screens  having  \- 
ip.   holes.     In  each  mill   the  tronnuels  are  followed   by 
classiriers  and  24  roughing  jigs,  followed  by  more  classifiers, 
the  oversize  going  to  six  finishing  jigs,  and  the  remainder 
to  two  Wilflcy  tables.     In  the  old  mill,  the  slime,  forming 
the  overflow  from  the  first  classifier,  goes  to  four  settling 
boxes,  or  'slime  tanks,'  and  thence  to  six  Wilfley  tables. 
In  the  new  mill,  there  are  six  Wilflcy  tables  and  one  Stand- 
ard table  for  treating  the  slime  to  each  stamp,  the  head 
and  middling  from  the  set  of  six  Wilfleys  being  pumped 
into  a  settling  box,  the  overflow  going  to  the  •.aste  launder, 
and  the  remainder  to  the  Standard  table,  whence  the  tailing 
goes  back  to  the  'slime  tank'  feeding  the  six  Wilfleys,  «hile 
the  heading  makes  a  copi)er  product.     The  only  rc-grinding 
is  done  by  a  Chilean  mill,  of  the  Monadnock  type,  which 
crushes  60  tons  per  24  hours,  the  material  treated  being  the 
coarse  middling  from  the  last  two  scries  of  roughing  jigs, 
wliich,  after  parsing  through  a  lO-mesh  sieve,  is  treated  on 
jigs  and  Wilfley  tables. 

The  Isle  Royale  mill  rcjiresents  the  prevailing  practice 
in  the  treatment  of  amygilaloid  ores;  that  of  the  Calumet 
&  Ilecla.  now  to  be  described  briefly,  is  rei^resentative  of 
the  accepted  method  of  milling  the  copper-bearing  con- 
glomerate. The  l)ig  plant  of  the  Calumet  &  Hecla  is 
situated  on  Torch  lake,  aljout  five  miles  from  the  mines;  it 
consists  of  two  adjoining  mill-buildings,  both  of  them  im- 
pressive on  account  of  their  sias.    As  you  walk  through 


I. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIO'i. 


Stiimt) 
Cu..  ^— ^'  ,  Cu 


131 


Cu.- 


■VV'llfl(|y 


c. 

.,.    J'gs 

/ 

-\ 

/ 

1 _N^iini- 

-Cu. 

^~~T  — 

-  Cu.        <'i^ 

,.  1 

Cu.    ] 

^T.*- 

f 

1 

\ 

\ 

y' 

♦if- 

-'-■■:i'vv 

iff 

; 

-Cu. 


f>ettlin<i 


Jiffs 


(iravi'l 


I 

V 

y 


n. 


Tank 

-"IT.-*- 

-■ 

-"            ~ 

1 

\ 

--h:^ 

♦ 

\                              1 

;Tf.*- 

-x;  1 

1 
t 

Cliilo    \      \ 

♦iT-- 

S^  ' 

y 

-^ii:-- 

Cu. 


t 
( 
I 
I 
,   I 

r  = 

I    5 

I 


Cu. 


V  Cu. 


i 

X 

/ 

t- 

X- 

;  ■ 

C. 

/ 

/ 

c. 

/ 

- 

Wilfbevs 


/  Cu. 


X- 

,-    c. 

/ 

I 


I 
I 
/Cu. 


I  H 


X 
X- 


— -. ;.«- 


L/C"- 


,-    c. 


X 

,C\i. 

X 

c. 

c. 

— 1_. 

-... 

...4_ 

.Cu. 

Wilfleys 


X 


c. 

-A 


I 
I 

I 
I 
I 

In 


X?u 


_  1. '  ^  ^ 


~-i 


^c. 


^ViIflcy 
Cu. 


Evuns  Tables 
SCHEME  OF  TREATME.NT.  CALUMET  &   HECLA  MILL 


.  >a,ak'a. 


■a" 


132 


TllK 


'PER  MIXES 


them  the  aiuouiit  of  ii.acliiiiery  seems  uiieiuling;  for  one 
mill,  containuig  17  stamps,  is  7UU  ft.,  and  the  other,  with 
11  iieads,  is  400  ft.  witle,  the  length  along  the  line  of  treat- 
ment being  175  feet. 

The  total  capacity  of  the  2S  heails,  with  an  average  of 
300  tons  per  .-^tamp,  is  over  8,000  tons  per  day.  Uwing  to 
repairs  and  alterations,  the  actual  scale  of  treatment  is 
represented  by  0,000  tons.  The  stamps  are  of  the  Leavitt 
type,  and  have  a  falling  weight  of  2^  tons,  when  the  shoes 
are  new.  Troni  the  bin,  the  millstuff  passes  over  a  gently 
inclined  iron  chute,  wide  enough  to  serve  as  a  sorting  table, 
the  ore  sliding  forward  with  the  aid  of  a  jerking  movement, 
imparted  by  a  crank  at  sucli  a  speed  as  to  permit  a  man, 
who  watches  the  feed,  to  pick  out  any  lump  copper. 

The  stamp  is  not  turned  mechanically,  by  the  friction  of 
the  tapjwt  and  cam,  as  in  the  ordinary  gravity  stamp,  but 
by  impact  on  the  ore  lying  upon  the  die;  this  turning  is  er- 
ratic being  slight  for  one  or  two  drops,  followed  by  a 
sudden  grand  whirl,  according  to  the  state  of  the  feed. 

Removal  of  lump  copper  from  the  mortar  is  effected  by 
a  jig  recently  invented ;  this  has  its  operating  end  inside  the 
mortar.  There  is  a  slot,  1..")  in.  wide,  and  12  in.  long,  at 
the  base  of  tlu;  screen  and  on  each  side  of  the  mortar; 
under  this  there  is  a  chamber,  4  in.  by  12  in.,  bottoming 
U])on  a  sieve  with  1-in.  openings;  and  this,  in  turn,  lies 
over  a  larger  compartment,  divided  )>"  a  double  system  of 
valves,  so  that  the  copper  can  be  discharged  through  a  gate 
without  interfering  with  the  work  going  on  in  the  mortar 
itself.  The  plunger  of  this  jig  (th(>re  being  one  on  each  side 
of  the  mortar)  gives  an  imjndse  which  is  transmitted 
through  the  water  in  the  successive  chambers;  the  smaller 
copper  product  (or  'hutchwork')  passing  through  the  lower 
sieve,  with  the  1-in.  openings;  while  the  heavier  ])ieces 
gradually  displace  the  gravel  within  the  upper  chamber  (the 
top  of  which  is  level  with  tlie  bottom  of  the  mortar  screen), 
until  it  is  filled  with  lumps  f)f  metal.     This  is  then  removed, 


■  :;-*^;- 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


133 


without  disturbing  the  wash  of  the  stamp  or  jig,  by  opening 
tlie  back  of  the  reeej)tacle,  the  contents  of  which  are  me- 
chanically discharged  into  an  intermediate  coi.inartnient; 
and  then,  after  closing  the  upper  valve,  through  an  opening 
whicii  empties  outside. 

It  is  recognised  that  an  excessive  use  of  water  is  a  bad 
feature  of  the  local  practice;  and  efforts  have  been  made 
to  obviate  this  defect.  To  this  end,  a  jig-classifier  has  been 
devised  to  take  the  jjlace  of  the  \'-separators  in  general  use; 
and  this  has  already  diminished  the  quantity  of  water  con- 
sumed by  the  milling  operations.  As  the  device  is  now- 
passing  through  the  Patent  Office,  no  drawings  are  avail- 
able, but  the  following  description  will  indicate  its  nature: 
Two  brass  shields  are  placed  within  the  bod}'  of  the  jig; 
these  shields  are  elliptical  in  plan,  and  are  placed  one  within 
the  other  at  different  heights  above  the  jig-sieve;  the  outer 
shield  extends  into,  and  is  sealed  by,  the  jigging  material 
(sand  and  gravel),  so  that  the  slime  is  prevented  from  rising 
within  the  shield,  and  flows  along  the  sides  until  it  e  pes 
over  the  tail  of  the  jig.  The  inner  shield  readies  down 
into  the  copper  bed  lying  on  the  sieve;  the  sand  and  gravel 
entering  under  the  outer  shield,  travel  around  the  inner 
one.  and  finally  make  their  exit  also  through  a  slot  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  jig.  the  slot  being  controlled  by  a  gate 
which  regulates  the  fluctuations  of  the  load.  This  inven- 
tion )iroduces  an  economy  of  water  because  the  cla.ssifica- 
tion  is  effected  without  the  addition  of  any  water  except 
sufficient  to  run  the  jig:  and,  in  fact,  the  slime  is  slightly 
de-watered  by  the  settling  action  involved  in  the  device. 
Less  attendance,  and  no  plugs  to  choke,  are  other  note- 
worthy features  of  this  arrangement,  as  compared  with  the 
usual  hydraulic  classifiers  and  V-shaped  .separators.  By 
the  use  of  the  mortar-jig  as  against  the  Kraiise  discharge, 
by  the  aid  of  the  jig-cla.ssifier  just  described,  and  by  a 
marked  decrea-se  in  the  number,  and  increase  in  the  effi- 
ciency, of  ordinary  jigs  at  work  in  the  mill,  the  consumption 


134 


THE  COl'PEIi  MIXES 


of  water  has  been  lowered  from  Hoiiietliing  like  2,500,0UU 
gal.,  to  1,125,000  gal.  per  stamp  per  24  hours. 

The  scheme  of  treatment  is  given  in  the  diagram  on 
page  131.  This  shows  (wherever  C'u  api)ears)  tue  stages 
at  wliich  the  metallic  copper  is  extracted,  and  the  gradual 
elimination  of  tlie  encasing  rock.  (Wherever  X  appears 
there  is  a  product  that  goes  to  waste.)  At  the  stamp  theic 
are  two  extractions  of  copper  on  each  side  of  the  mortar,  as 
already  described.  On  making  its  exit  through  the  screen, 
the  jiulp  is  divided  so  as  to  pass  through  two  series  of  double 
compartment  jigs,  five  on  each  side.  The  first  two  jigs  have 
sievc>  24  in.  wide  and  .30  in.  long;  the  next  three  have  sieves 
50  in.  wide  and  oO  in.  long;  the  jigs  are  arranged  so  that 
the  comiiartments  are  in  .-series  along  the  cour.-^e  of  treat- 
ment, the  pulsation  being  along  the  line  of  flow. 

The  slime  separated  in  the  first  jigs,  by  the  classifier 
already  described,  goes  to  a  settling  tank  and  thence  to  two 
Evans  revolving  tables  of  four  decks  each,  the  partial  con- 
centrate from  these  eiglit  'Inuldlcs'— as  they  may  be 
termed— jtassing  to  four  Wilfley  tai)les,  the  middling  from 
which  goes  to  a  fifth  'Wilfley.  .Metallic  copper  is  obtained 
at  each  of  tlie  Wilfleys,  R(>turning  to  tiie  jigs:  metallic 
copper  is  secu.ed  at  the  first  two  of  each  .«eries,  the  otiier 
three  yielding  'gravel,'  or  middling,  which  goes  to  a  Chilean 
mill  for  re-grinding.  The  hutchwork  from  all  the  jigs,  goes 
to  nvo  Wilfley  tables;  and  the  crushed  middling  from  the 
Chilean  mill  goes  to  two  other  Wilfleys,  the  middle  heading 
from  all  four  being  returned  to  a  fifth,  the  middling  of 
which  in  turn  goes  to  the  Chilean  mill.  Metallic  co])per  is 
ol)taine(l  from  each  of  these  Wilfleys  also.  The  tailing 
from  tlie  mill  is  elevated  by  rafT-wheels  of  .")0  ft.  and  fiO  ft. 
diameter:  it  is  tested  by  taking  automatically,  and  at  regu- 
lar intervals,  a  samjile  which  is  assayed  for  its  copper  con- 
tents, and  passed  through  succes.^ive  sieves  to  determine 
the  character  of  the  cru.- "ling. 

Losses  in  milling  of  these  copper  ores  are  attributable 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


135 


to  two  caufics:  tlic  first  i.s  the  abrasion  of  the  metal  due  to 
its  bci'ig  retaiiieil  witiiin  the  mortar  after  it  is  released 
from  tlio  encasing  rock,  the  rate  of  discharge  being  dispro- 
portionate to  the  enormous  rate  of  crushing;  the  second 
cause  is  the  existence  of  cop[)cr  within  particles  of  rock 
which  have  been  iiiade(iuately  crushed;  this  is  especially 
true  of  conglomerate,  in  wliich  the  metal  penetrates  the 
very  body  of  the  hard  ])ebbles.  Tlie  copper  exists  in  parti- 
cles ranging  frt)m  the  microscopic  to  massive;  therefore, 
the  crusliing  can  be  likened  to  the  breaking  of  nuts,  the 
kernel  l)eing  lil)erated  by  the  cracking  of  the  shell;  but  the 
nuts  range  from  filberts  to  cocoanuts  in  size,  and  from  pea- 
nuts to  brazils  in  lianlness.  Re-grinding,  therefore,  is  an 
im[)ortant  problem. 

At  present  it  is  the  practice,  in  many  mills,  to  return  the 
oversize  from  the  trommel  back  to  the  stamp,  which  is  a 
clumsy  solution  of  the  difhculty,  because  nuich  of  the  pulp 
simply  travels  the  circuit.  However,  only  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  pulp  can  be  re-ground  profitably,  under  existing 
coiuhtions,  by  reason  of  the  high  consumption  of  power 
and  the  excessive  wear  and  tear  involved  in  all  re-grinding 
maciiines.  It  can  be  said  that  only  material  carrying  O.oO 
to  0.7.")  per  cent  copper,  or  more,  will  pay  to  treat  in  the 
Cliilean  mill — wliich.  at  present,  holds  the  field. 

.\t  the  Baltic  mill,  where  this  practice  was  first  used  in 
the  copiier  country,  120  tons  of  o\  ersize  from  the  trommels 
of  one  unit  is  ])assed  through  rolls;  and  this  expedient  has 
raised  the  crushing  capacity  of  the  stamp  just  that  amount 
—  120  tons  per  day.  At  the  Calumet  iV-  Hecla  plant,  the 
Hf  ".)erle  mill,  consisting  of  two  steel  di.sks,  eccentric  to  each 
other,  and  revolving  in  o]iposite  directions,  is  tised ;  but  the 
superintendent  is  in  no  way  enthusiastic  over  this  machine. 
High-speed  rolls  and  Huntington  mills  have  been  employed ; 
at  present  the  Chilean  mill,  both  the  Monadnock  and  the 
.\llis  type,  form  part  of  the  equipment,  nnd  they  are  said 
to  do  good  work.     But  their  capacity  is  small,  namely  .33 


136 


THE  COPPm  MIXES 


to  40  t()iisDer24  hours  (,f  tlio  material  kuowr  as  'ragging'; 
this  ranges  from  'S-lii  in.  downward,  and  is  re-ground 
through  a  16-mcsh  screen.  Tiiey  consvnne  an  excess  of 
power— 2S  h.p.  per  mill,  e(iuivalent  to  from  15  to  20  cents 
per  ton.  In  the  Quincy  mills  the  Monadnock  type  of 
Chilean  mill,  G  ft.  in  diameter,  is  in  successful  use.  Each 
macliine  consumes  2.5.61  h.p.,  and  crushes  from  55  to  60 
tons  of  amygdoloid  per  24  hours  through  a  lO-mesh  screen. 
The  product  is  granular  and  in  good  condition  for  the  Wil- 
fieys.  At  the  Baltic,  the  6-ft.  Huntington  mill,  also  working 
on  amygdaloid,  puts  51  tons  of  \-h\.  material  through  a 
16-mesh  screen  in  24  hoin-s.  Therefore,  allowing  for  the 
difference  in  screens,  the  Huntington  appears  to  grind 
faster  than  the  Cliilean  mill  working  on  similar  material. 
The  Jialtic  mill  Ikls  one  Huntington  to  four  stamps;  this 
machine  treats  tiie  'ragging'  from  the  finishing  jigs.  In 
this  mill,  rolls  are  also  used  early  in  the  operation,  the 
oversize  from  tronuuels  docs  not  go  back  to  the  stamp; 
from  the  tronunel  with  ^-in.  openings,  the  oversize  passes 
to  Sturtevant  rolls;  and  from  them  it  is  returned  to 
the  tronuuel,  to  take  its  regular  course  through  the 
plant. 

From  indicator  cards  it  has  heen  shown  that  the  Chilean 
mill  takes  25  to  .30  h.p.,  and  the  ordinary  Himtington  14  h.,*. 
even  where  the  latter  is  doing  more  grinding.  The  former 
makes  26  to  30  revolutions  per  minute,  the  latter  60  to  65. 
The  consumption  of  steel  amounts  to  about  15  cents  per 
ton  in  the  one  case,  and  2.25  cents  in  the  other.  That  is  on 
amygdaloid.  The  total  cost  of  re-grinding  coarse  'ragging' 
mav  be  put  at  10  to  12  cents  per  ton  for  the  Huntington, 
and  .30  to  35  cents  for  the  Chilean. 

The  roller  of  a  Chilean  mill  has  a  cnishing  weight  of  about 
6,000  lb.,  this  being  the  actual  weight  of  the  roller,  plus 
one-third  the  weight  of  the  spider  and  the  tire.  The  roller 
in  the  Huntington  weighs  1,400  lb.,  but  by  reason  of  the 
centrifugal  force  developetl  by  the  greater  speed  of  revolu- 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


137 


tion,  the  virtual  crushing  weight  of  this  is  approxuimtely 
5,400  iwunds. 

The  new  Huntington  mill,  now  being  introduced,  has  the 
same  diameter  as  the  one  previously  in  use;  but  it  is  a  more 
powerful  machine,  with  overhead  drive,  and  is  heavier, 
weighing  45,000  lb.,  as  against  26,000  lb.,  the  weight  of  the 
usual  6-ft.  machine.  This  increa.se  in  weight  was  made  in 
consequence  of  experience  obtained  by  Mr.  Frank  Klepctko 
in  the  concentrator  of  the  Boston  &  Montana  Copper  Com- 
pany at  Great  Falls.  In  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject, 
it  may  be  pointed  out  that  re-grinding  machinery  in  a  null 
serves  as  a  valuable  cover  to  any  erratic  behavior  on  the 
part  of  roughing  jigs  or  other  devices  doing  similar  work. 

It  is  difficult  to  secure  accurate  data  concerning  the 
tailing  losses.  On  amygdaloid,  the  Osceola  tailing  averages 
0.018  per  cent  from  an  initial  one  per  cent  ore,  making  the 
extraction  82  per  cent.  At  the  Adventure,  with  0.95  per 
cent  ore,  the  tailing  average  is  0.26,  giving  an  extraction 
of  73  per  cent.  At  the  Champion,  with  ore  carrying  30  lb. 
of  copper,  of  which  4  lb.  is  'mass,'  sorted  out  before  milling, 
the  tailing  ranges  from  0.30  to  0.35  per  cent,  equal  to  an 
extraction  of  80  per  cent.  At  the  Quincy,  the  mill-rock 
contains  19.3  lb.  copper  per  ton,  and  the  tailing  averages 
0.26  per  cent,  indicating  an  extraction  of  S3  per  cent. 
Speaking  generally,  it  can  be  said  that  in  treating  an  amyg- 
daloid containing  1  to  1.5  per  cent  copper,  the  tailing 
averages  0.25  to  0.35  per  cent,  this  being  equal  to  an  ex- 
traction of  75  to  80  per  cent.  On  conglomerate  such  as 
that  of  the  Calumet  &  Hecla,  the  included  copper  carried 
away  in  the  tailing  prechides  a  high  extraction,  a  loss  of 
0.7  per  cent  indicating  an  extraction  of  72  per  cent  on  a  2.5 
per  cent  ore. 

The  mill  treatment,  therefore,  is  not  satisfactorj';  it  has 
not,  for  example,  kept  pace  in  improvement  with  the 
mining  metho<'.=  of  the  region.  The  present  practice  is 
really  to  drcwr^  the  ore  with  an  enormous  volume  of  water. 


W^^yftj£^?Zr^^?FWA 


\:;s 


THE  COI'tEJi  MLSLS 


not  ill  tlie  mortar  alone,  but  also  in  the  hydrauiic  classitiers. 
This  is  riHjuirccl  to  aid  tho  discliarjie  from  utidi-r  the  stamp, 
and  to  coiivcy  tlic  cnishrd  material  llirough  an  interminablu 
numlicr  ol'  jigs.  The  stamp  does  not  pMlverizc,  it  i\tn<  the 
work  of  a  roek-hreaker,  for  it  rediiecs  only  to  I  inch,  lop 
this  work,  as  also  for  the  other  cxtreiiic — very  tine  grinding 
— tlie  stamp  is  not  adapted,  liut  effort  toward  betterment 
is  under  way,  and  a  radical  ileparturc  from  e'itablished 
practice  proves  that  prejudice  is  not  to  cripple  advance- 
ment. At  the  Champion  mill,  tmder  the  experienced 
direction  of  .Mr.  F.  G.  Coggin,  gyrat(jry  crushers  are  to  be 
tried,  supplemented  by  rolls.  A  unit  of  eciuipnient,  capable 
of  treating  .3.^0  tons  pvr  day,  is  now  in  course  of  erection. 
This  scheme  of  treatment  will  be  based  on  the  gradual  re- 
duction of  'copper  rock'  through  Gates  g}Tatory  crushers,  to 
a  size  suitable  for  further  reduction  by  rolls  instead  of  steam- 
stamps,  the  idea  being  that  if  the  ore  can  be  sent  to  the 
mill  already  reduced  to  a  size  of  2.5  in.  or  less,  the  expensive 
steam-stamp  is  not  needed.  The  sa\ing  to  be  made  in 
this  way,  will  consist  of  a  decrease  in  the  power  re(Hiired— 
at  least  7.')  per  cent— a  smaller  consumption  of  water  in  the 
l)rocess  of  separation,  and  a  diniitnition  in  slime,  which  does 
not  exist  in  the  broken  >ock  as  delivered  to  the  mill,  but  is 
made  chiefly  by  abrasion  with  the  lump  copjier  in  the 
mortar.  It  is  aLso  intended  to  jig  the  material  coarser  than 
the  present  size,  which  is  \  inch,  in  order  to  allow  some  of 
the  coarser  stuff  to  escape  as  tailing  w  ithout  further  reduc- 
tion: that  portion  requiring  further  connninution  will  be- 
come ■middlina:'  from  the  ji*;s,  and  will  be  reduced  by  re- 
grin<liiig  machinery. 

Tin  general  scheme  invohes  the  use  of  gj-ratory  crushers 
at  tile  mine.  There  is  one  of  these  at  the  Champion  mine 
already:  it  is  the  'No.  7\  Gates.'  and  has  proved  a  satis- 
factory machine,  beiwg  better  adapted  to  the  crushing  of 
rock  .•ontaininglump  copper,  than  the  breakers  with  straight 
jaws.     It  is  intended  to  erect  a  larger  syratorv  at  the 


OF  LAKE  SlI'ERlOIt. 


130 


a 


o 


140 


'/■///•;  COl'I'EU  MIS  lis 


%'i 


iiiiiif,  M)  ili'sigiicil  that  till'  .spiiidU'  can  l>r  ilrnpiicil  one  incli, 
■^reby  oviTfoniiii);  tlie  (It'luyjs  iliic  lu  the  clogging  of  tlie 
cruslu-r  hy  lumps  nf  f<)|i|HT.  Tlie  jaws  of  this  cnislKT  will 
be  set  2."»  in.  apart.  It  is  Tiot  practicahU;  to  (luin|)  the 
skip  or  ear  direct  into  the  crusher,  as  at  the  Home-take,  on 
account  of  the  proeiiec-  of  lump  copper,  which  renuires 
that  the  ore  shall  pass  over  jrrizzlies  and  undergo  sorting 
by  hand.  Under  the  jiyratorv  will  come  a  conveyor,  with 
boys  to  j)ick  out  pieces  of  copper  which  have  been  released 
by  the  passap-  of  the  rock  throujrh  the  crusher.  Then  the 
material  passes  to  bins  which  load  into  cars  that  no  to  the 
mill.  At  the  mill,  the  bins  will  deliver  to  a  shaking  j{i  .  i-, 
the  oversize  j;oin<r  to  a  ^^yratory — set  at  1..')  in.— tlie  product 
from  whicii  will  join  the  und<'rsize  ftom  tlu  grizzlies  to  be 
elevated  to  u  trommel,  witii  ;-in.  -'pertures.  l''rom  here 
the  material  tr<>es  to  roufihinj:  ji^s;  the  ovcr-ize  and  uniler- 
size,  respecti\cly,  from  the  trommel  froin^  to  .sejiarate  ji^is, 
and  from  tliem  to  separate  roils.  Thence  the  product  is 
raised  to  three  trommels,  with  %,  I.  and  J-in.  opeiimj;s,  all 
the  iiroduet,  as  sized,  ])a.ssin«  to  different  ji<;s,  except  the 
screening  from  the  last  trommels,  whir!,  jjoes  to  cone- 
classifiers.  .\t  the  last  set  of  jigs,  a  middlinji  w  ill  be  made; 
and  this  will  <;o  through  rolls  before  bein^  fe(l  to  the  new 
HuiUiiifiton  mills,  the  ])roduct  froii^  wliicli  will  join  the 
fine  screenintr  from  the  hist  tronnnel,  to  jnoceed  to  cone- 
elassifiers  a'  I  tiience  lo  (h(<rstri>m  tallies,  lixperiment-: 
with  this  concentrator  have  <ri\cn  excellent  results. 

Ry  tiiese  chanjies  it  is  expected  that  the  (_'hanii)ion  will 
decrease  tlie  cost  of  millinir,  and  secure  an  increased  amount 
of  copper,  i^ossibly  cijual  to  tlie  pres(>nt  total  cost  f)f  millinjr. 
25  cents  per  ton.  This  will  emjihasize  the  observation  that 
durini:  late  years  the  endeavor  to  lessen  costs  lias  licen 
pushed  at  the  expense  of  any  improvement  in  extraction; 
that  is,  it  has  not  been  realized  that  while  the  expenditure 
entailed  by  the  treatment  of  ci>i)per  ore  has  decrea.sed, 
there  has  been  no  commensurate  diminution  in  the  amount 


OF  LAKE  SUrKIUOli. 


141 


of  uopjHT  lust,  rive  cnits  wortli  of  co|)|)er,  j)er  ton,  lost 
in  the  tailing  is  wortli  just  as  much  as  a  five-cent  decrease 
in  niilliii^;  cost.  It  should  be  added  that  the  installation 
proposed  is  purely  experimental,  hut  the  intention  is  to  put 
a  definite  tonnage  through  a  definite  process"  in  other 
words,  the  experiment  is  on  a  conunercial  scale.  The  de- 
sign of  the  exiH'riniental  plant  is  purposely  made  .-iudiciently 
flexible  to  permit  of  any  modification,  the  necessity  of  which 
may  be  indicated  by  tiie  results.  There  is  nothing  revolu- 
tionary in  the  scheme  of  treatment.  It  is  simply  an  ap- 
plication, to  the  special  conditions  in  the  Lake  .'^uperior 
district,  of  methods  which  have  been  adopt e<i  in  Montana 
and  Colorado.  Whatever  the  outcome,  it  is  evident  that 
this  is  a  departure  from  precedent  whidi  is  entirely  justified; 
it  starts  an  investigation  of  current  practice  such  as  shr;uld 
contribute  notably  to  tlie  empirical  develoi)nient  of  milling 
methods  in  the  copper  regions  of  Michigan. 


XI II. — SMKLTJNG    rUACTICE. 

The  treatinoiit  of  ore  at  tlie  luilLs  yields  a  product  which 
consists  of  tiiosc  various  jirades  of  metallic  copper  called 
'mineral.'  Some  •>(  the  mills  make  a<  many  as  five  classes, 
removed  at  ililTerent  stages  of  the  dressing;  these  vary  as 
regards  fineness  of  particles  (from  slime  to  walnut  size), 
and  as  regards  purity  (from  30  to  75  per  cent  copper). 
There  is  also  a  large  proportion  of  pieces  of  fragment al 
copper  extracted  from  the  mortar,  called  'headings.'  Thiis 
is  almost  clean  metal,  containing  alunit  95  per  cent  copper. 
]iy  iiand-sorting  at  the  mine,  anil  at  the  mill  (as  the  'rock' 
is  fed  into  the  stamps)  there  is  secured  a  product  called 
'Ijarrel  work';  this  ranges  in  size  from  fragments  as  big 
as  an  orange  to  pieces  as  large  as  a  man's  head.  Exactly 
similar  material  sorted  out  at  the  mine,  l)ut  ranging  in 
size  fron\  a  few  pounds  to  several  tons  in  weight,  is  known 
as  'mass.'  Tlic  'barrel work'  and  'mass 'contain  about  70 
ner  cent  copi)er.  Thus,  the  material  which  reaches  the 
smelter  incUules  copper  in  a  great  diversity  of  sh  ipe,  purity 
and  degree  of  siibdivision.  On  the  whole,  the  average  is 
GD  to  70  per  cent  copper,  with  an  admixture  of  heavier 
constituents  of  the  lode-rock,  forming  a  chemical  complex 
which  is  mainly  aluminum  silicate  together  with  varying 
proportions  of  iron  and  lime. 

Ordinary  custom  charges  for  smelting  are  SS  tf>  89  per 
ton  of  'mineral,' with  5  cents  penalty  on  each  unit  below 
70  jicr  cent  cojiper;  the  average  cost  of  smelting  is  there- 
fore about  $7.75  per  ton  of  refined  copper;  the  lowest  cost, 
at  tlie  Quincy  works,  is  .'?5.25,  and  at  IJuffalo,  85.35  per 
ton. 

riie  smelting  is  essentially  a  melting  and  refining  of  a 
co]ipcr  product  in  which  the  copper  is  in  metallic  form  mixed 
with  a  relatively  small  percentage  of  rock  iinpuritj'.  This 
main  operation  takes  place  in  a  reverberatory;   it  is  sup- 


W" 


qffHm 


COPPER  MIXES. 


143 


plemented  by  the  reduction  of  the  resulting  slag  in  a  blast 
furnace,  yielding  copper  blocks  wiiich  are  returned  to  the 
reverberatory  furnace  to  be  refined. 

The  Quiucy  smelting  works  are  representative  of  the 
practice  which  has  prevailed  during  the  last  twenty  years. 
This  plant  is  situated  on  the  foreshore  of  Lake  Portage,  at 
Hancock.  To  Mr.  W.  P.  Smith,  the  superintendent.  I  am 
indebted  for  every  facility  for  obser\-ation,  supplemented 
by  courteous  explanation. 

The  product  from  the  mill  is  discharged  from  the  railroad 
cars  into  a  storehouse,  the  'mineral'  arriving  in  barrels 
which  are  emptied  into  trucks;  these  pass  into  the  furnace 
building,  where  they  are  raised  by  an  electric  crane,  so  that 
their  contents  drop  into  a  hopper  situated  over  an  opening 
in  the  roof  of  the  furnace.  The  smaller  'mass'  is  thrown 
by  hand  through  the  side  door  of  the  furnace;  and  when 
the  lumps  are  too  big  for  entrance  this  way.  they  are 
lowered  by  an  electric  crane  through  the  roof-opening.  In 
starting  a  charge,  a  small  amount  of  'mineral'  is  spread 
over  the  bottom;  then  the  heavy  pieces  of  'ma.ss'  are 
lowered  carefully  ui)on  this  lied.  Sometimes  an  unusually 
large  mass  will  not  jiermit  of  even  this  mode  of  entry;  then 
it  is  laid  aside  until,  repairs  to  the  brickwork  becoming 
necessary,  the  furnace  is  dismantled;  this  permits  of  the 
mass  being  placed  on  the  hearth  while  the  top  of  the 
furnace  is  rebuilt  over  it. 

Each  of  the  four  reverberatory  furnaces  has  an  average 
capacity  of  400  tons  of  'mineral'  per  month  of  24  actual 
working  days.  A  charge  of  .36,000  lb.  mineral  is  treated 
every  24  hours  by  each  furnace,  the  product  being  26,000 
lb.  copper.  The  hearth  is  12  by  IS  ft.  As  soon  as  the 
charge  is  introduceil.  the  melt  begins;  after  a  couple  of 
hours  the  skinuning  of  slag  commences.  About  15  to  16 
hours  are  required  to  complete  the  treatment,  the  remaining 
S  or  9  hours  being  con.sumed  in  poling,  ladling,  cleaning  up 
and  re-charging  the  furnace  for  the  ne.xt  melt. 


mmmmsmmwam 


qppmnniniai 


wm 


wm 


144 


THE  COPPER  MIXES 


:i 


.Miliii;il,  .Mii»;mil  I'.liu'k 
,V         L'l'iPlii  r(  V)  iiMiiii:lni; 
T0;<  t.i'«i?l,'U. 


■  iltictiSliiKfrolii  (1>) 


"^ 


\ 


\ 

ll.viTlHTiil.iry  FiMiiaoi'.  «  hire  tiM'  icipiwr 

K  tiih'il  alKl  I'i'MlH'd;  tin-  olHTUIioiis  tx'ilit; 

I.  rilsion                          / 

I'    111  Iiuiira 
2.  Itvliioval  .i|-|a«       \ 

c 

3.  l-'iiiinu  or  rahltljnir         - 

4.  I!i'filiil>b'<>l'|><>liliu          '- 

't.  Casliiij^                               'J 

Cllan-'c  rniislM-  .■!•  IS  tens  ..f  A  with  ii  varia- 

bli-(  4  to  8^)aclilili,.iion!,  l.i-itciiis.if 

linn'^lolifaild  Ti  ti'lls  <»f  xit'troal. 

y             \ 

.jL. 


I'nim  npfi;4(Hin'* "-  iind  3. 


Hftiiifii  (•(i|)iMT. 


shitr. 
Fioiii  iiprriiiion  1 


J 


\ 


('n|Mila  or  l>l;t-«t  fiiriiari'. 
K    iltai^rc<Mi-i>Isof-Jtl(iiistirD,plii.s  Htn 
'J  tons  Hmesttinenml  4  tonsof  Imrrt  c 


1 

I'.Iack  ruppi  T  ill  l»i( 

<ks 

1- 

(■nntaiiiiii«0.:i''  -.  t 
lli.iHalan.l  .->?  I'r. 

nnl 

si.-ti!iim  far. 


DIACli.VM  OF  OI'i:i{ATI<>\S   AT 

(H  iN<'v  sMi:i,ri:ii. 


I)11inli:?lttt; 

o.:".!<i.'ii. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


145 


After  the  cliarge  has  become  thoroughly  melted,  and  the 
slag  has  all  been  reiuovetl,  it  is  'rabbled'  for  U  to  2^  hours 
to  oxidize  and  convert  into  slag  the  impurities  contained 
in  the  copper.  1  his  '  rabbling '  is  effected  either  by  flapping 
the  surface  of  the  molten  coi)per  with  an  iron  tool  called  a 
rabble,  or  by  blowing  into  the  copper  a  jet  of  steam  or  air. 
The  use  of  the  latter  is  the  most  common.  Two  to  four 
i-in.  pipes,  supplied  with  air  at  60  to  90  lb.  pressure  per  sq. 
in.,  are  thrust  into  the  liquid  copper,  resulting  in  an  active 
agitation  of  the  whole  charge,  thereby  constantly  exposing 
fresh  surfaces  of  the  metal  to  the  oxidizing  influence  of  the 
furnace  atmosphere.  Wiicn  this  operation  is  complete,  as 
judged  by  the  refiner  from  the  character  of  a  sample  taken, 
the  surface  of  the  cliarge  is  again  skinmied  clean;  then 
poles  of  wood,  usually  poplar,  10  to  20  ft.  long,  are  thrust 
into  the  copper  to  reduce  tlie  copper  oxide  formed  during 
the  'rabbling'  operation.  This  last  operation  is  called 
'poling'  and  refjuires  about  two  hours.  Not  quite  all  of 
the  copper  oxide  is  reduced ;  merchantable  copper  always 
containing  about  0.5  per  cent  Cu.O. 

The  ladling  then  follows;  the  liquid  metal  being  poured 
either  simply  by  hand  or  with  mechanical  aid.  At  one 
furnace  the  ladle  was  hung  on  a  traveler,  permittixig  of  ad- 
justable leverage,  and  readily  controlled  by  the  workman, 
so  that  each  of  two  men  alternately  dipped  n  ladle  holding 
90  lb.  copper,  the  dipping  being  finished  in  U  liours;  at 
another  furnace,  on  the  other  side  of  the  building.  I  wit- 
nessed tlie  older  fashion  of  hand-pom'ing  with  30-11).  iadles, 
three  men  requiring  three  hours  to  'dip  the  charge.' 

The  slag  from  the  reverberatories  contains  12  to  IS  per 
cent  copper;  it  is  drawn  off  into  pots,  which  go  to  a  blast 
furnace;  Init  the  richer  slag,  skimmed  after  the  final  poling 
and  containing  25  to  .30  per  cent  copper,  goes  back  into  the 
reverberatory  and  forms  jiart  of  the  succeeding  charge. 
The  bla  t  furnace  is  a  cupola,  38  by  70  in.,  of  standard  t}'pe; 
it  is  operated  intermit  tenth-,  as  material  for  it  accumulates. 


146 


TlIK  COPPER  MIXES 


Lime  is  aiUled  to  flux  tlie  revcrbcratory  slap;  and  the  ash 
from  the  fuel  cousiumetl;  the  usual  cliarfte  contains  20  tons 
of  slaji.  with  about  40  per  cent  lime  and  22  jter  cent  iiard 
coal.  Tlie  slag  from  the  cupola  contains  an  average  of 
0.6  to  0.75  per  cent  copper.  What  copper  it  does  contain, 
is  half  in  the  form  of  'prills'  or  globules  of  metal,  and  the 
remainder  is  disseminated  unreduced  copper  oxide. 

The  copper  from  the  ladles  is  poured  into  moulds  of  vary- 
ing sliape,  which  in  turn  are  emiiti-  d  into  water  to  cool ;  any 
excrescences  are  chipped  off.  and  tlie  metal  then  goes  to 
the  warehouse  ready  for  shipment  to  tl  -■  market.  Four 
differently  shaped  products  are  made:  1.  Ingots  and  in- 
got bars,  each  ingot  weighing  20  lb.,  and  each  bar  60  to 
00  lb.;  tliesc  are  suitable  for  casting  and  for  use  in  brass- 
making,  etc.  2.  Cakes,  100  lb.  to  4.000  lb.,  as  required  b}- 
customers;  this  material  is  employed  chiefly  for  rolling  into 
sheet  copper.  .'?.  Wirebars,  .3  to  4V  in.  square  and  3  to  7\ 
ft.  long,  weighing  100  to  4>S0  Hi.:  these  arc  for  manufactf.r- 
ing  wire,  suitable  for  electric  and  other  purposes.  4.  .An- 
odes in  ))lates  al)out  2  ft.  by  .3  ft.,  1^  in.  tliick.  weighing 
250  lb.,  which  are  smelted  from  picked  'mineral'  containing 
60  to  70  oz.  silver  ])er  ton :  the  two  metals  are  subsequently 
separated  by  electrolytic  refining. 

The  first  three  of  the  cojiper  products  have  a  conductivity 
of  at  least  '*().  Tiio  reverlieratory  furnaces  have  to  be  re- 
paired every  eight  or  ten  weeks.  Tiie  furnace  roof  lasts 
about  eight  months  and  the  fire-box  roof  half  that  time. 
Several  additions  and  improvements  are  being  designed, 
especially  for  tlie  discharge  and  storing  of  'mineral '  as  it 
comes  from  the  several  mines  which  are  contributory  to 
this  smelter.  In  default  of  any  systematic  sampling,  it  is 
difficult  for  the  smelter  manager  to  arrive  accurately  at  the 
metal  contents  of  the  material  he  treats.  The  'nia.ss' 
copper  is  extremely  irregular  in  shape,  and  carries  a  varying 
proportion  of  adhering  rock.  Even  the  'mineral,'  which 
comes  in  barrels,  is  diflictilt  to  average,  because  any  single 


%-»  ,i'S£»0*»'.- 


.1  !,•■■  rtl".   'I 


^TTt 


OF  LAKH  SUPERIOR. 


147 


barrel  may  contain  several  grades  of  product  in  laj-ers  by 
no  means  parallel  to  each  other,  so  that  the  'tester'  used 
at  the  mills  will  give  an  inaccurate  result.  I  watched 
several  barrels  while  they  were  being  emptied,  and  noted 
that  they  contained  a  mixed  product  thus  carelessly  ar- 
ranged. This  part  of  the  operation  merits  keener  atten- 
tion, and  will  require  it  if  the  smelter  is  to  check  the  work 
of  the  mill. 

On  the  otiier  side  of  Portage  lake  and  about  three  miles 
west  of  Houghton,  there  is  the  new  plant  of  the  Michigan 
.Smelting  Company,  an  enterprise  organized  to  treat  the 
product  of  the  mines  on  the  South  Range.  This  smelter 
had  just  been  built  within  the  preceding  twelve  months, 
despite  the  severity  of  the  winter  cold,  and  represented  the 
outcome  of  unusual  energy  and  skill.  Although  a  tempera- 
ture of  I'inus  20°  F.  was  not  uncommon  during  the  period 
of  construction,  and  minus  10°  F.  was  considered  relatively 
mild  weather,  the  walls  and  foundations  do  not  appear  to 
have  suffered.  Thn  accompanying  plan  explains  the 
arrangement  of  the  plant.  To  llr.  F.  I.  Cairns,  the  man- 
ager, I  am  indebted  for  many  of  the  details  which  follow. 

The  works  are  built  upon  a  terraced  slope,  the  copper 
product  from  the  mills  being  delivered  by  tiie  railroad  in 
bottom-dump  cars  sufficiently  tight  to  render  the  finer  stuff 
safe  from  leakage.  The  'mineral'  is  dumped  into  a  driver, 
a  rotating  cylinder  sliglitly  inclined,  72  in.  diameter  "and 
30  ft.  long.  This  dryer  is  the  A  9  machine  of  the  Ruggles 
Cole  Engi!iecring  Company,  anrl  has  a  capacity  of  15  tons  per 
hour.  Drying  is  required  in  order  to  prevent  the  freezing 
of  the  'mineral'  in  the  bins  during  winter,  and  also  to 
facilitate  sampling.  'Mass'  and  'barrel  work'  copper  are 
neither  dried  nor  sampled,  but  are  sent  direct  to  the  melting 
furnace. 

After  sampling,  the  mineral  goes  to  the  bins;  they  are 
vertical  cylinders  of  sheet  steel,  12  ft.  diam.  and  30  ft.  high. 
Tiie  design  of  them  is  borrowed  from  srain-elevator  prac- 


.'=li-: 


il'-i.=«>o  .  1<?!M. 


!iSP 


'■■iMtSilk  ' 


lit  >{VU_.arY.'±:'l 


»s 


rilK  COl'l'EU  MIXES 


tier,  sucli  as  is  to  ho  swii  im  tlio  mitskirts  of  Cliieago.  Tliis 
form  of  coiistnictioii  is  brst  i-apahio  of  taking  the  strain 
dovoloiii'tl  hy  tlic  oiitwanl  prossiirc,  uliicli  is  carried  hy  tlie 
tensile  streiijrtli  of  the  steel  jihites,  tlie  iiij^h  density  of  the 
mineral  rendering  wooden  hins  of  ordinary  construction  ni- 
adei|uate  to  tlie  purpose.  These  hins  are  10  in  ninnher 
and  hold  2')0  tons  apiece.  From  them  the  mineral  is  taken 
in  liottom-dunip  cars  along  a  track  above  the  smelting 
furnaces,  to  ho  discharged  into  the  latter  through  hoppers. 

There  are  three  -melting  furnaces,  each  having  a  hearth 
IS  ft.  wide  and  ,50  ft.  long,  with  a  daily  cai)acity  of  100  tons 
of  mineral  averaging,  say,  .")()  per  cent  co])pcr.  It  remains 
to  he  s(>en  what  the  furnaces  ar<>  capahle  of  doing,  hut  1.50 
tons  is  i-egarded  as  a  reasonable  maxinnnn  capacity.  Some 
iron  was  added  at  hrst,  say,  U])  to  (>  ])er  cent,  in  order  to 
take  off  the  excess  of  alumina  in  the  rock  impurities  ac- 
companying the  mineral.  Tiiis  iron  was  a  hematite  from 
Crystal  lails,  and  was  considered  to  insure  a  more  liquid 
slag  tlian  if  entire  dependence  were  ])ut  on  the  lime  })re^'>nt 
in  tlie  'mineral.'  Hut  tliis  addition  of  iron  has  been  found 
unnecessary.  Slaus  contain  ].'»  ])er  cent  alumina,  and 
there  is  eiioujih  lime  in  the  charge  to  keep  them  lifiuid. 
Tiiirty  tons  of  mineral  are  fed  into  the  furnace  at  a  time, 
tlie  resulting  metal  being  sup|plied  to  the  'casting'  or  refin- 
inu-  furnace  intermittently  in  ciiarges  of  .*>()  tons. 

Since  writing  the  aho\c  it  has  l)eeii  found  ad\isahle  to 
reduce  the  si/e  of  the  melting  furnaces,  from  IS  ft.  wide 
by  .")0  ft.  long  to  1()  ft.  wide  and  :>.'>  ft.  long.  In  the  fur- 
naces as  first  built,  the  sand  bottcuns  gave  a  good  deal  of 
trouble,  due  jirincipally  to  the  great  exjiansion  of  such  a 
larg(>  furnace.  The  expansion  of  this  large  copjicr-soaked 
sand-bottom  was  found  to  be  very  much  more  than  that 
of  a  similar  sized  furnace  suK-ltiny;  for  copper  matte.  The 
coiisefjuent  exjiansion  (and  contraction  of  the  furnace  on 
cooling)  resulted  in  cracking  and  weakening  the  bottom; 
so  that,  with  a  hath  of  metal  of  such  high  specific  gravity 


B&*»..--v«bir^'M'a''^?^i..-'- 


OF  LAKE  Sil'EJilOH. 


149 


J "  >f^  '^■i.  J 


150 


nil-:  cui'i'Eii  MisEs 


as  copper  upon  it,  tlicrc  was  a  great  teiuleney  tor  the 
boitoni  to  Hoat.  Several  bottoms  suffered  in  this  way;  as  a 
consequence,  tlie  furnaces  were  reilucetl  in  size,  as  noted 
above,  and  tlie  bottoms  were  laid  of  two  courses  of  12-in 
silica  fire-brick  in  an  inverted  arch.  Absolutely  no  difli- 
cultics  have  liecn  encountered  in  the  operation  oi  tiiese 
furnaces  since  then,  and  they  have  resulted  in  a  marked 
economy  in  the  treatment  of  the  'mineral.' 

The  c(Ji)i)er  runs  fnnn  the  melting  furnace  to  the  refining 
furnace,  which  is  5  ft.  lower,  along  a  launder  21  ft.  long, 
there  being  no  trouble  in  keepuig  the  metal  litjuid  for  this 
distance.  There  arc  two  refining  furnaces,  each  with  a 
hearth  14  ft.  wiile  and  23  ft.  long,  and  so  arranged  as  to 
take  the  product  of  the  three  melting  furnaces,  the  central 
melting  furnace  of  these  tapping  to  either  of  the  refining 
furnaces.  At  present  the  two  casting  furnaces  together 
treat  two  charges  per  day;  but  this  rate  of  operation  will 
be  expedited  when  the  plant  gets  into  full  working  order. 

The  slag  from  all  the  rcverberatories  goes  to  a  blast 
fmnace  of  standard  design,  38  in.  by  120  in.  Slag  is 
skinuncd  into  large  cast-iron  rectangular  pots,  10  in.  by 
24  in.  by  GO  in.,  holding  1,000  lb.,  wliich  are  carried  on 
trucks  and  drawn  by  an  electric  locomotive  to  the  rock- 
breaker,  a  15  by  30-in.  Blake  crusher.  The  pots  are 
em]itied  into  the  jaws  of  the  breaker,  by  an  overhead  pneu- 
matic crawl;  the  broken  product  is  sampled  before  being 
elevated  to  the  bins  above  the  blast  furnace.  The  copper 
from  this  furnace  is  cast  into  moulds,  chilled,  and  then 
transfcrreil  to  the  refining  furnaces  by  electric  traction 
and  crane.  The  slag  from  the  blast  furnace  is  granulated 
in  flowing  water,  and  then  run  out  ])y  launder  to  the  lake. 

In  the  large  furnace-house  there  is  a  traveling  electric 
crane,  so  that,  what  with  the  fullest  use  of  gravity  and 
mechanical  devices  generally,  there  is  the  least  possible 
amount  of  manual  labor  eniploj-ed  in  the  handling  of  ma- 
terial.   The  chipping  of  the  ingots,  to  take  off  excrescences. 


OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 


151 


18  done  by  hand,  though  it  might  well  be  done  with  a 
pneumatic  chisel,  the  compressed  air  for  which  is  already 
available. 


PLAN  OF  MICHIGAN  SMELTKR. 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  descriptions  of  the  two  establish- 
ments, one  old  and  the  other  just  built,  that  the  essentials 
of  the  smelting  operations  have  not  been  changed  in  the 
new  works;  these,  however,  exemplify  the  constant  effort 
of  the  modern  engineer  to  eliminate  manual  labor  from  all 
mining  and  metallurgical  enterprise. 


1 


XIV.— IiiK  -Ml  N  WiK,  Did  It. 

Xutnre  j^avc  tlie  Upper  I'ouinsula  a  great  .series  i)f  copper 
lodes.  Man  turned  tlieiii  to  the  use  of  his  kind.  As  I 
would  choose  the  region  \>y  tiie  Lake  as  a  type  of  American 
mining  at  its  l)est,  so  1  would  instance  the  chanicter  of  the 
men  responsilile  for  its  development  as  representative  of 
that  composite  energy  which  ha.<  conquered  tlic  wilderness 
of  plain  and  forest,  changing  the  desert  to  a  granary  and  the 
waste  to  a  habitation.  Wiioever  desires  to  ai)preciate  the 
causes  which  have  l)nnight  about  the  great  growth  of  these 
United  States  can,  l)y  going  to  Houghton  and  Calumet, 
observe  two  of  tlieir  diief  factors,  namely,  the  natural  re- 
sources of  a  continent  and  the  best  blood  of  many  races, 
united  in  elTort  and  com])etiiig  in  skill.  It  needs  but  to 
sound  the  roll-call  of  inventors,  engineers  and  business  men, 
who  hav(!  won  distinction  in  the  cojjper  country,  to  bring 
out  the  fact  tliat  many  ar,'  t  ic  peoples  ivho  have  partaken 
in  this  industrial  conriuest.  The  steam-stamp  was  the  in- 
vention of  Hall,  a  Massadmssetts  mechanic;  the  van- 
ner  is  to  be  credited  to  William  R.  Frue  and  his  master 
mechanic.  William  Foster,  of  Fredonia,  New  York; 
Frue,  who  was  an  Irisl  nan,  found  the  I'ewabic  lode 
and  the  South  Pewal)ic,  two  discoveries  which  became 
identified  with  the  Quincy  and  Atlantic  mines,  respectively. 
August  lle''il)ack,  a  flerman.  did  mucli  to  develop  the 
.■ipplication  of  the  vanner;  tiic  jig  was  developed  by  John 
Collom.  a  Cornishman,whose  name  still  dings  to  that  cU^vice. 
.T.  W.  V.  Rawlins,  an  engineer  with  mechanical  genius,  was 
an  Englishman,  while  S.  E.  Cleaves,  a  notable  character  and 
the  first  to  make  an  iron-bodied  jig,  came  from  Maine; 
Philip  Scheurmann,  a  pioneer  millnian,  was  a  German;  Jlr. 
Bruno  V.  Xordberg,  the  designer  of  many  of  the  most  -m- 
portant  installations  of  machinery',  is  a  native  of  Finland; 
Mr.  John  St.antnn,  identif  •.■  i  with,  all  that  is  sound  in  mining, 


CfU'I'KU  Mi.\i:s 


153 


3i 

■ 

^Kf . 

^*i* 

i^ 

f -fcr 

■mi 

ymm 

i:>4 


TUK  LOl'l'EK  MISHS 


i  51    (! 


■A- 


I 


wa.s  bom  in  SiiiiiTsot.  Liiglaiul.whi'u  Mi.  D.  Lca>-  -f  r., 
another  on^iincor  who  liius  taken  a  not;tblc  imi'i  n  the 
e(Hiii)ment  of  t'  ,  bij;  iniiu'?.,  is  of  .\Iu.ssaehu.-.etts;  an  Hu 
roll  begins  as  ii  i  :i'l>  \«.ith  the  name  of  a  Ncu  V'Ai^hv  lei .  it 
serves  as  suggestion  <il  lluit  httle  leaven  that  leaxcnctli 
tlip  whoU-  lunij). 

Of  niefl>.;iuical  ingenuity  there  has  ''een  fxv  .i  Jiver   -v 
of  origin     nt '.mlergrouuil  t»ne  ;    re  ui  n    ii  li.     held — ami 
continues  to  h<il(l — ])re-cniinenci      The  Cornislin  an  is  will; 
honor,  sa  .•  in  hi-    wn  eoinitry;  i.M-re  his  obtus«    "ssto  tin 
uiiplieatiuii  of  nioiiern  maehinery  ha-  passe.l  into     proverb 
btit  nnt  iilc  the  rock-ribljed  peniii-nla  of  Cnrnv.all,  else- 
where, all  over  tlie  world,  he  has  tau^it  ti     ',      of     -inkiiifi 
how  to    nine.     Tlie  story  of  the  Lak'     mih.         .!1     ,inat(^ 
with  the  names  of  the  'captains'  wl         iiiliei  '         kill  hn 
piloted  tho>e  that  exi'lorc  tlu    dark       izes 

World. 

"P        re,  P..1-  ind  I 
Yiiii  may  know  thit 


T||.       Ill; 


indii 


<liiii("i 

and.    if    these   prefixes    arc    no:     sun 

vou  can  trace   them    '■     the  storifs    o      'heir    \ 

-trcngth   and  good  humor,     ihf'y     ay  iliat 

.Martin  Goldsworth\  had  been  slaiige<i  by  a  di.sni 

man.  he  was  asked  why     ■  had  v  t  knocked  the 

With  a  stri.ni:    '  i^rat-     n-    r-'piied,        That's  ..n 

honoT>  of  the  p' 

one  of  the  old  ^ 

boy  of  18.  pro 

escapade.     V 

ingtoii.  and 

After  two  >e:ii 

he  came  to  T.aki   superior,  in  1  - 'ilt.     From  \\ 

National  mine,  1 

caj)iain.     He  bei 


Wll. 

,irat<     n-    P'plieu,        inais-'h-     .  ilie 

ioii."     Til.  w  a*  Capt   William     arnall, 

ird,  w^      -nsise*!  the  At i     'icwl     i  btit  a 

,ied  ■  ii  rca 

rvcii   i.  ■  ati-i      orks  -. 

■:   111    kno        a      >n    'vjjert 

in  tne  coal  ami    •oii  regi' 


of  a  poaching 
tinel  at  Wash- 
mmi     man. 
th'    --nth, 
t  the 
■on  became  -  uift-boss,  and  I         -sistant 
le  celebf'ted  locally  as  a  wresii.-r,  par- 
ticularly thrniiffh   I  fight  in       ich  he  vanquished  a  notor- 
io'i-buUv.    Thi-;  ■  veir    '•'■■i-       im  to  the  attention  of  Capt. 


OF  i..\KK  sri'EHnnt 


l.w 


Kv« 


156 


THE  COm'KR  MIXES 


John  Chynowcth  and  utlier  older  men,  who  advised  him  to 
improve  his  natural  abilities.    He  used  to  read  at  night, 
lying  in  his  bunk  with  his  miner's  candle  stuck  in  his  hard 
hat,°and  that  after  an  exacting  day's  labni-!    From  being 
captain  at  the  Franklin,  in  1SG9,  he  advanceil  to  posts  of 
greater  inii)ovtance;  and  in  1890  he  was  appointed  assistant 
supcruitendent  at  the  Tamarack;    he  died,  in  1903,  the 
chief  at  that  mine.     lie  was  recognized  as  a  progressive 
man,  willing  always  to  take  a  sympathetic  attitude  toward 
technical  science,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  two  of  his 
sons  were  graduated  with  the  first  class  of  the  Michigan 
College  of  Mines,  iu  ISSS.     Richard  Uren  and  John  I'ren 
were  also  men  whom  change  tlid  not  stagger;    they  were 
willing  to  move  with  the  procession,  sometimes  to  lead  it. 
Capt.  llieliard  Uren,  who  died  in  1897,  possessed  a  i^.-od 
deal  of  mechanical  ingenuity,  and  busied  himself  with  im- 
proving the  devices  used  around  a  mine.     He,  like  most  of 
his  countrymen,  traveled  to  different  districts;  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Old  Abe  mine  in  tlie  Black  Hills,  he  became 
familiar  with  gold  mining  in  South  Dakota;  later,  he  was 
one  of  the  first  to  open  up  the  Wolverine;  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that,  if  his  ideas  had  been  followed,  the 
Wolverine  would  have  become  a  big  mine  many  years  be- 
fore Mr.  Stanton  actually  accomplished  that  feat.    Capt. 
John  Daniell.  who  also  died  in  1S97,  was  the  originator  of 
the  Tamarack  ' deep-level ';  simple  tliough  it  seems  todayto 
sink  a  shaft  2,300  ft.,  to  cut  the  Calumet  &  Hccla  lode,  it 
was  a  bold  venture    in  1SS4.      .\nother  good  service  he 
did  was  in  advisingMr.  Albert  S.  liigelow  to  interest  him- 
self in  the  Boston  tt  Montana  group,  at  Butte.     He  was  a 
good  man  underground,  and  had  that  sound  judgment 
which  is  priceless;    he  was  the  man  who  made  the  Osceola 
a  paying  mine,  when  others  had  failed ;  although  not  a 
technical  man  himself,  he  gladly  availed  himself  of  technical 
science.     Among  the  living  are  such  worthies  as  Capt. 
Samuel  B.  Harris  and  Capt.  Johnson  Vivian,  who  have  re- 


i-w  mmm' 


^rWs^^; 


i^^^TMiw^m^. 


158 


THE  COl'l'KR  MIXES 


w 


1 


tirc'l,  but  live  in  ctdiifurt  amid  tl>o  scenes  of  their  past 
activity.  Capt.  James  Ciiynoweth  is  one  of  the  survivors 
of  this  notal)le  group,  and  lias  charge  of  the  Centennial, 
Alloucz  and  otlier  mines.  Captains  John  Dennis  of  the 
Adventure,  Joshua  Hooper  of  the  N'ictoria,  Richard  Ed- 
wards of  the  Isle  lloyale,  and  Thos.  Hosking  of  the  I'rank- 
lin,  have  also  done  credit  to  'the  old  county.' 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that,  in  the  first  class  sent  out  from 
the  Michigan  College  of  .Mines,  there  were  five  sons  of 
Cornish  mine  captains,  out  of  the  seven  who  were  graduated. 
The  day  of  the  Cornish  mine  captain  is  ^•anishlng;  his  place 
is  being  taken  by  sons  who  are  native  Americans;  but  these, 
despite  their  better  education,  lack  the  distinctive  character 
of  their  forefathers,  losing  some  qualities  and  gaining  (Jthers 
better  suitetl  to  their  environment.     Nevertheless,  even 
today,  when  technically  educated  men^.\merican.  what- 
ever their  fathers  were — tlirect  the  operations  of  the  mines. 
I  foimd  the  imderground  work  in  charge  o!"  a  Cornishman. 
in  inrii  instance.     Shoved  aside  at  surface  in  the  march  of 
sciciildic  progress,  he  holds  his  own  underground,  simply 
because  he  knows  better  than  anyone  how  to  break  rock, 
liow  to  timbi     ">ad  gromid.  and  how  to  make  the  other 
fellow  shovel  i..  tram  it  and  ho'.st  it.     At  the  Atlantic  I 
hea- '  a  story  on  Capt.  Vivian,  which  that  worthy  gentle- 
man will  forgive  me  for  quoting.     A  friend  of  his  told  it 
thus:    "Cap'n  Vivian  took  hold  of  the  Franklin  when  she 
was  dead  to  the  world,  and  she  just  scraped  along  for  a 
while.     He  was  talking  to  the  agents  up  at  Calumet  one 
day — they  hail  a  kiml  of  party  and  were  gassing  a  bit,  ho 
told  them  tiie  Cahunet  could  run  herself,  she  was  rich 
enough  not  to  need  nnich  bossing.     'A  good  bal  makes  a 
good  cap'n,'  said  Iv  .     They  didn't  get  '    ->f  a  joke  on 

the  old  man:  he  left  them  chewing."  i  .■  'ue  enough; 
there  is  the  chairman,  there  is  the  gene  '  .nanager,  the 
accoimtant,  the  engineer,  the  assayer,  the  manager— and 
it  is  the  boss  unffcrijrmind  that  m.akes  the  mine.     But  it 


OF  LAKE  SUI'KRIOIi 


159 


. 


takos  the  otlicr  people  to  luni  the  ore  v:hcn  mined  into 
money;  ami  here  is  where  the  Cousin  Jack  has  too  often 
failed  to  equip  himself.  There  L  the  miner's  strength  and 
skill  in  the  Cornishman's  arm ;  he  is  the  hammersman  of  the 
world — I  mean  underground,  not  among  the  artificial  con- 
ditions of  a  farcical  drilling  contest — but  lie  lacks  the  ability 
to  keep  his  eye  on  the  main  thing,  the  dividend.  Hence, 
many  of  them  are  gooil  shift-bosses,  but  poor  general 
managers.  At  Houghton  they  tell  the  story  of  the  easy- 
going captain  who  used  to  visit  a  certain  mine  at  regular 
intervals.  Driving  up  to  the  ofTice  he  would  call  for  the 
man  in  charge  of  the  work, and  say,"(iooil  mornin',  Cap'n; 
how  is  that  drift  going  north  from  Xo.  .3  shaft  (or  any  old 
shaft)?"  To  which  would  come  the  answer,  "She's  lookin' 
keenly,  Cap'n.  There's  a  lot  of  copper  ii'  'er."  "What  tiie 
blooming  'ell  is  the  use  of  copper  down  i  icre?  Send  'er  up, 
.send  'er  up."  A  crack  of  the  whip  and  he  was  on  the  way 
back  to  town.  Of  course,  I  do  not  mean  l)y  this  tliat  the 
Cornishmen,  as  luanagers,  had  no  sense  of  duty;  Init  tliey 
did  lack  that  nose-to-the-grindstone  strenuous  ajiplication 
which  makes  the  modern  American  ruminate  mining  and 
machinery,  while  Englishmen  arc  playing  cricket  or  golf, 
and  Germans  are  drinking  beer  or  singing  college  somrs. 
Ti;ey  are  all  part  of  life — tlie  song,  tlie  play  and  the  work; 
but,  assuredly,  to  win  tha*-  share  of  money  and  position 
which  constitutes  success,  it  is  necessary  to  play  the  man. 
and  strong  in  will  "to  stri\e,  to  .'^eek,  to  find,  and  not  to 
vield." 


i  '-.'^'rT?^'wr>jf='rr'?/.".''^s-r'-i 


XV.     A  Last  (Jlanc  k. 


) 


My  story  is  almost  at  an  eiul.  it  has  necessarily  been 
too  short  to  do  justice  to  so  wide  a  subject;  but  it  will,  I 
hope,  convey  to  those  who  have  never  been  to  these  splen- 
did mines,  sonic  idea  of  their  method  of  exploitation,  their 
jieological  conditions  and  the  treatment  of  their  output. 
Before  leaving  Houghton,  1  will  ask  you  to  go  with  me  to 
the  top  of  one  of  the  Quincy  shaft-houses  and  take  a  general 
view  of  the  country  as  it  appears  from  that  point  of  vantage. 
There  will  be  Lake  Superior  men  in  Mexico,  Africa  or  Aus- 
tralia, to  whom  the  description  will  convey  some  of  the 
warmth  oi  auld  lang  sync. 

It  was  a  fine,  clear  morning;  the  west  wind  had  blown 
away  the  mists,  and  while  I  regarded  the  widespread  scene, 
as  from  a  mountain  to]),  it  seemed  good  to  be  there.  Look- 
ing due  south  over  the  multiplicity  of  trestles  and  tracks 
leading  from  the  shaft-house,  Quincy  hill  slopes  steeply-  to 
the  narrow  arm  of  Portage  lake;  on  the  near  side,  just 
showing,  arc  the  roofs  of  Hancock;  and  across  the  water  the 
straight  streets  of  Houghton  radiate  in  perspective  from  the 
quiet  woodlands. 

f)ver  the  bridge  that  unites  the  twin  towns  of  Houghton 
and  Hancock,  the  trolley  cars  are  passing;  while  imtler- 
neath,  over  a  lower  track,  a  Duluth,  South  Shore  «fc  Atlantic 
train  is  backing.  Houghton  stretches  out  thin  along  tlie 
water  front;  behind  the  two  or  three  blocks  of  houses  the 
streets  beconie  cotmtry  roads,  win.ling  through  clearings 
tliat  are  diversified  by  dark  patches  of  forest.  Beyond 
these  again  the  rolling  plateau  hoUls  the  village  that  sm-- 
rounds  the  Isle  Royale  mine  with  its  two  pror.iincnt  shaft- 
houses,  between  which  three  rows  of  workmen's  houses 
appear  like  onlerly  l)eehives;  and  in  the  distant  background 
successive  depths  of  forest  fade  into  the  faint  blue  of  the 
Huron  mountains. 

Nearer  to  har.d.  anri  to  the  right,  is  the  sheen  of  water 


--afr  .'.J^.uifU*' 


COP  I' EH  MINES 

161 

i 

( 

11 

COPPER   HARBOR. 

• 

iTr^"!a'  .- 


.'    1"^*         .        ■^.»'.  iV 


I'llHPi    II 


mi—taiuat.'  -,'\HC»' 


IG'2 


Tilt:  COI'PEH  MINES 


--«?-- 


marking  a  dam  belonging  to  the  Isle  Iloyale  mine,  and 
swinging  thence  southwestward,  along  the  line  of  the 
(•iuincy  shaft-houses,  the  eye  follows  the  general  strike  of 
the  mineral  belt  as  it  is  indicated  by  a  succession  of  busy 
M.lnes.  About  two  miles  south  of  the  lake  the  red  roofs  of 
the  Atlantic  appear  amid  the  green  woods,  and  the  smoke 
of  that  celebrated  mine  is  thrown  to  the  wind;  behind  it  the 
country  rises  to  Wheal  Kate,  a  hill  the  name  of  which 
instantly  brings  Cornish  associations.  On  the  nearer  side  of 
this  hill,  but  eastward,  the  smoke-stack  and  some  of  the 
buildings  of  the  Baltic  mine  can  be  discerned,  and  on  the 
wooded  slopes  below,  two  shaft-houses  stand  out  against 
the  trees.  The  nieghboring  mines,  the  Champion  and  Tri- 
mountain,  are  only  suggested  by  wreaths  of  smoke,  for  they 
are  buried  amid  the  bush  that  bounds  the  horizon. 

Coming  back  to  the  foreground,  but  moving  westward 
again,  a  grove  of  maples  hides  the  valley  of  the  Lake  Arm, 
and  almost  eclipses  the  new  Michigan  smelter,  whose  thin 
smoke  rises  wind-blown  on  the  further  side.  The  country 
south  and  west,  in  this  part  of  the  picture,  is  cl.crkcred  with 
cultivated  squares,  marking  the  industry  of  the  Finns,  whose 
farmhouses  are  many  of  them  still  unpainted  and  bespeak 
the  newness  of  the  agricultural  development  of  this  part  of 
Michifian.  Behind  these  fields  of  grain  comes  a  fringe  of 
woodland,  indicating  the  descent  to  the  main  waters  of 
Lake  Superior,  the  southern  edge  of  which  is  blurred  by 
separate  wreaths  of  smoke  rising  from  the  stamp-mills  at 
Freda,  where  the  Champion,  Trimountain,  Baltic,  Adven- 
ture and  Atlantic  companies  treat  their  ore. 

The  Portage  Arm  can  be  followed  by  the  dip  in  the  con- 
tour of  the  land,  although  the  water  itself  cannot  be  seen; 
and,  as  the  indent  in  the  land  is  followed,  it  takes  the  eye 
westward  to  the  alpine  azure  of  the  great  lake— Lake 
Superior— whose  far  horizon  is  faintly  broken  by  the  mass 
of  Isle  Royale,  sixty  miles  away,  crowned  by  splendid 
cumuli  which  dissolve  themselves  in  Funlit  ftkies, 


OF  LAKH  SUt'FhiOH. 


1G3 


following  the  I-ake  from  west  to  north  until  tlie  land 
rises  against  the  watery  horizon,  tliere  come  into  the  fore- 
ground th"  '.ts  of  the  village  of  Qnincy,  with  the  chim- 
neys, dm  id  rock-hiiuses  of  the  old  I'cwabic,  Franklin 
antl  iMes.  ^.  lines.  Northeastward  there  intervenes  a 
ten-mile  stiuch  of  bush  kimwii  to  contain  several  mines 
none  of  whidi  are  visible  oxcept  the  Franklin,  Jr.  On  the 
sky-line  a  cluster  of  chinnicys  indicates  the  great  Calumet 
&  Hecla;  to  the  right  is  tiie  Osceola,  and  to  the  left  the  tall 
stacks  of  the  Red  Jacket  and  the  Tamarack,  the  deepest 
metal  mines  in  the  world,  starting  600  ^'t.  above  the  lake, 
itself  600  ft.  above  the  sea,  and  penetrating  nearly  4,(K)()  ft. 
below  the  sea.  Behind  the  bristling  points  of  this  group  of 
black  chinsneys,  the  far  end  of  the  Keweenaw  peninsula  can 
almost  be  seen.  Dark  hills,  far  to  the  north,  indicate  the 
Cliff,  where  mining  began  in  this  region,  and  to  the  east  of 
them  the  conical  shai)e  of  Mt.  IJoheniia  rises  like  a  lone 
volcano. 

Swinging  ea.stward,  the  near  view — and  there  is  no  other 
— is  composed  of  a  bare  plateau  broken  by  long  rows  of 
dwelling-houses,  with  the  ill-fated  A  "adian  shaft-house 
silhouetted  against  the  sky.  Turning  Surther  to  the  right, 
and  eastward,  the  entering  wedge  of  Lake  Superior  again 
comes  into  the  picture,  and  can  be  followed  until  it  lends  to 
Keweenaw  bay.  At  our  feet  Quincy  hill  slopes  lo  Tortage 
Ann,  and  on  the  further  shore  the  environs  of  Ilougliton 
end  in  a  group  of  red-roofed  buildings  which  mark  the 
College  of  Mines.  Here  the  Portage  Arm  wi'Mis  into 
Portage  lake,  whose  sinuous  lines,  leading  to  Kewei  !ift  w  1  sy, 
are  dotted  with  several  steamers.  On  the  shore  of  ths  bay 
is  L'Anse,  where  dwell  in  tame  subjection  theChippewas,  the 
Indian  tribe  whose  forefathers  held  sway  over  this  goodly 
heritage  of  forest  and  stream.  That  smudge  yonder  by 
Keweenaw  bay,  is  not  a  red  hunter's  camp  fire,  but  rises 
from  the  tall  stack  of  the  Mass  stanip-mill.  Behind  it  is 
the  level  ridge  of  the  Huron  mountains,  stretching  north- 


164 


VOl'l'EU  MINKS. 


ward  until   tlu-y  cU-avc   fiuke  SiiiKM-ior  willi  rocky  prom- 
ontory. 

Xeart-r  to  us  tlio  smoke  of  tlic  smelter  at  Dollar  Bay,  and 
tluvt  risiiif?  from  the  mills  at  Torch  Lake,  are  thrown 
ajiainst  a  hackfiround  of  the  flat  woodland,  rimmed  by  the 
blue  waters  of  the  great  lake.  These  stretch  eastward  to  a 
skyline  broken  by  a  wreat';  of  smoke  that  follows  in  the 
wake  of  an  unseen  vessel,  which  carries  with  it  all  the  wide 
suggestions  of  maritime  commerce  and  swift  comnumica- 
tion  with  that  great  world  of  activity  which  is  beyond  our 
view.  And  so  we  piiN-^  from  the  copper  mines  of  Lake 
Superior  to  other  scenes. 


.IMI'SiC  l)F  I-\KK  SUl'liRIOR. 


"Tar--5T— ?r3sr^ 


ORE    DRESSING 

By  ROBERT  H.  RICHARDS 

Thin  mnftniliccnt  coiitrilxition  to  metallur({icul  literature  i» 
now  rcHily.  after  nmny  jeiirs  of  careful  preparation  by  the  author, 
v'lo  is  one  of  the  aliU'st  cxpertM  on  the  (juestion.  In  this  ex- 
cellent treatise  the  ore  <lressiMj{  theory  is  thoroughly  developed, 
and  an  iriexhaiiHtihIe  mine  of  useful  facts  and  practical  experi- 
ments is  hrou^ht  forth  that  virtually  outrivals  any  other  work 
ever  l)efore  issued  on  any  branch  of  mechanical  and  metallur)[;ical 
enjjineerin;;.  The  unswervinjf  aim  of  tlie  author  has  l)een  to  elu- 
cidate to  the  working  student  modern  American  practice,  referrin)» 
for  comparison  to  Kuro|M-an,  and  to  so  ex|>ound  the  principles 
of  the  art  as  at  present  understood  as  to  make  advance  easy  in 
the  future.  The  plan  of  the  book  is  essentially  practical,  and  18 
divided  into  four  main  parts,  viz.:  Crushing,  Separating.  Con- 
eentratinj;  an<l  Wnshinj;,  Accessory  Apporatus  and  Alill  Process, 
and  Mana<;ement.  The  numerous  subdivisions  include  elaborate 
chapters  on  (iravity  Stamps,  Screen  Sizing  and  its  Principles, 
Classifiers,  Hand  Picking,  .ligs  and  Laws  of  .Tigging,  Slime  Con- 
(cntration  and  Amalgamation. 

This  superb  work  is  beyond  all  doubt  or  question  a  veritable 
masterpiece  of  technical  literat\ire.  and  should  occupy  a  promi- 
nent place  in  every  industrial  library.  .Mining,  metallurgical  and 
mechanical  engineers  cannot  affonl  to  be  without  it.  as  it  is 
specifically  the  kind  of  literature  the  profession  nowadays  demand 
as  an  infallible  guide  to  practical  work. 

Ch.ipfcr  XIII,— Hand  Pickinff. 


Ch.ipter  I. — Gfneral   Principles. 

Part  I.  —  Brrakintr,    CrushinK    and 

Comminvitinn: 
Cfiapter  II. —  Preliminary  Crushing. 
Chapter  III.— Rolls. 
Chapter  IV. — Steam,  Pneumatic  ami 

Sprinf  Stamps. 
Chapter  V. — Gr.-ivity  Stamps. 
Chapter  VI. — Pulverizers  other  than 

Gravity  Stamps, 
Chapter  VlI.-'Liiws  tif  Crushinir, 
Part  II, — Separating,  Concent  rat  irtjr 

or  Washing : 
Chapter  VIII,  —  Preliminary  W.ishers, 
Chapter  IX,— Sizing  Screens, 
Chapter     X. —  Principles    of    Screen 

Sizing, 
Chapter  XI,— Classifiers, 
Chapter  XII, — Laws  of  Classifyini;  by 

Free  Settling  in  Wat.T. 

Two  Volumu.    Octavo,  Cloth. 


Chapter  XIV.— Jigs. 

Chapter  X\^. — Laws  of  JiRging. 

Chapter  XVI,-  Fine  Sand  and  Slime 
Concentrators. 

Chapter  XVII. — Amalgamation. 

Chapter  XVIII    -Miscellaneous  Pro- 
,  ess  of  Separation. 
Part  III. — Acces.sory  AT>T"aratus: 

Chapter  XIX,    -Accessorv  Apparatus, 
Part    IV, --Mill  Proeesks  and  Man- 
agement ; 

Chapter  XX.  —  Summarv    of   Princi- 
ples and  Outlines  of  Mills, 

Chapter  XXI, — General      Idea,i    on 
Milling 

Appendix.  Tables  and  Other    Useful 
Inlonnatitin.     Inde.x. 

?  igtt,  profuacly  illustrated. 


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The  Elements  of 
Mining  and  Quarrying 

BY 

SIR  CLEMENT  LE  NEVE  FOSTER 

The  Ifttwt  ftnd  most  reliable  tredtiiw  on  the  art  o(  eitrM-tinx 
useful  raineralM  from  the  eartU'n  cruHt.  This  udiiiiraldc  book  haa 
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ir-'-tttest  authority  on  the  subject,  and  tlie  data  eiulmdied  in  it 
\.ill  strong'.,  appeal  to  tlie  elementary  student  and  beKinner,  as 
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an  exceedinnly  simple  and  «traiglitforward  style,  besides  contain- 
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GENERAL  CONTEXTS. 

Chapter  I.— Occurrence- 
Chapter  11. — i)isioviiy. 
Chapter  III. — ^Uoring. 
Chapter  IV. — Excavations—  Ex- 
plosives. 
Chapter  V.— Support— Timber- 
ing- 
Chapter  VI.— Exploitation. 

Chapter  VII.— Hnulagp. 
Chapter  Vlll.— Hoisting  or 
Winding. 


Cliapter  IX. — Drainage. 
Chapter  X. — Ventilation. 
Chapter  XI. — Lighting. 
Ch.ipter  XII. — Access. 
Chapter  XU  I.— Dressing. 
Chapter  XIV.— l^slation. 
Chapter  XV. — Condition  of 

workmen. 
Chapter  XVI.— Accidents. 


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THE 

SAMPLING  and  ESTIMATION 
OF  ORE  IN  A  MINE 

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WIWDIWG  PLANTS  FOR  GREAT  DEPTHS- Behr i Jjo 

METALLURGY  OF  STEEL  -Howe ^o.oo 

ORE  DRESSING  AND  CONCENTRATION— Richards.  Two  Volumes,  lo.oc 

METALLURGY  OF  ZINC  -Ingalb  6.00 

PRODUCTION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  ZINC— Incalls 3.00 

MINING  AND  GENERAL  TELEGRAPHIC  CODE     McNeill 6.00 

TERMINAL  INDEX  FOR  ABOVE 2.50 

PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CHEMICAL  AND    METALLURGICAL 

SOCIETY  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA.     (Vol.  2,  1897-9). •*•«> 

A  treasury  of  miniii),'  ami  iiulalUirnical  infi>riiuiliOii. 

MODERN  COPPER  SMELTING    Peters S-oo 

MANUFACTURE   AND    PROPERTIES  OF    IRON    AND    STEEL 

-Campbell 5«>o 

CYANIDE  PRACTICE  -James S-oo 

ORE  DEPOSITS  OF  1  HE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA— Kemp.  5.00 

MINE  ACCOUNTS  AND  MINING  BOOKKEEPING     Lawn 425 

GOLD   MINES  OF  THE    WORLD-  Curie 3-50 

METALLURGY  OF  LEAD     Hofman 6  00 

LEAD  AND  COPPER  SMELTING  AND  COPPER     ONVERTING 

Hixon 3.00 

PRACTICAL  NOTES  ON  THE  CYANJDE  PROCEba  — Bosqui  2.50 

STAMP  MILLING  OF  GOLD  ORES  -Rickard  2.50 
CHEMISTRY    OF    CYANIDE    SOLUTIONS     RESULTING    FROM 

THE  TREATMENT  OF  ORES  Clennell  2-50 
PROSPECTING,  LOCATING  AND  VALUING  MINES— Stretch. 

Library,  Cloth. 


2.00 
2.00 


Pocket  Edition  for  Field  Use ^-So 

MATTE  SMELTING— Lang 

REPORT  BOOK  FOR  MINING  ENGINEERS— Charleton 

TRAVERSE  TABLES— Louis  and  Caunt 2.00 

OUTLINES  OF  QUALITATIVE  CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS     Miller  1.50 

SAMPLING  AND  ESTIMATION  OF  ORE   IN  A  MINE     Rickard.  2.00 
GEOLOGY  APPLIED  TO  MINING— Spurr. 

Library,  Cloth '-SO 

Flexible  Morocco 2.00 

ORE  DEPOSITS  (A  Discussioni 'oo 

ACROSS  THE  SAN  JUAN  MOUNTAINS     Rickarl 100 


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